


How to summon things you shouldn't

by fl4nel



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Agender Kenma, Dragon AU, Genderfluid Suga, Magic AU, Multi, and he fucks up, and kunimi knows stuff, big time, except he knows what hes doing, familiar!Iwa-chan, oikawa is kinda new to this whole magic stuff, suga is also a witch, witch!oikawa
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-18
Updated: 2015-08-03
Packaged: 2018-03-31 01:43:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 19,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3959704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fl4nel/pseuds/fl4nel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What could possibly go wrong? Was probably the question Oikawa Tooru should have asked himself before opening the book and starting the preparations for summoning a dragon familiar.<br/>In which bad decisions are made and as Kunimi would probably say,  "Dragon magic is already dangerous as it is. And if it’s mixed with demonic summoning on top of it, you’ve got a big storm coming.”</p><p>****ON HOLD FOR AN UNDETERMINED AMOUNT OF TIME SORRY!!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Black

**Author's Note:**

> *Manic laughter in the distance*  
> A chaptered fic wasn't supposed to happen.  
> I still have one last exam and approximately 10,000 fic drafts but I couldn't help it. Literally.
> 
> Shoutout to tumblr users yaboykeiji and the-red-bowl for the amazing AU idea and inspiring drawings you guys rock  
> Aka you made me write 3.2k words in one day and this is by far the fastest i've ever written and I'm not sure how I feel about it
> 
> All credits go to this post: (my lame ass doesn't know how to link things I'm sorry) http://yaboykeiji.tumblr.com/post/119174652359/so-of-course-something-went-wrong-in-the-process

What could possibly go wrong? Was probably the question Oikawa Tooru should have asked himself before opening the book and starting the preparations for summoning a dragon.

Not a real dragon, of course. A familiar. A dragon familiar that was going to help him and protect him and make him look a thousand times cooler in front of his circle and  _in front of Tobio-chan._

If it worked.

Dragons were totally the cooliest familiars around. Waaaaay better than this crow familiar Kageyama had gotten himself last week.

What did he have to loose, anyways?

Humming to himself, Oikawa traced a wide casting circle in chalk on the wooden floor of his apartment. Book in hands, he religiously copied every rune and symbols down. He carefully settled candles all around it and made sure his incense was still burning.

Taking a few steps back, he frowned.

“Tsk.”

It looked like a normal summoning circle alright.

But, wasn’t it too plain to summon something as powerful as a dragon familiar?

He decided that adding a bit of blood would probably be for the best. Blood was supposed to enhance magical energy, wasn’t it? It would only help with the summoning if anything.

Tooru took his ceremonial knife out and winced as the silver blade grazed the palm of his hand, effectively drawing a small line of blood that started dripping on the floor.

Cursing, Oikawa managed to make it drip directly on the outline of his circle and on the symbols for protection and power.

Satisfied, he grabbed a cloth lying on the floor and wrapped it around his hand to stop the bleeding.

_Now we’re talking._

He grabbed the book again and cleared his throat before starting to chant the summoning incantation.

As soon as the first word left his mouth, a powerful gust of wind put out the candles and a weird green smoke started to raise from the middle of the circle. A loud screech echoed in the room, making Oikawa’s ears ring.

Heart pounding, Oikawa narrowed his eyes and cursed mentally. Something was definitely off. The book stated that a familiar summoning was supposed to be harmless. It didn’t say anything about smoke, creepy breezes, and noises coming straight up from bad horror movies.

Oikawa wasn’t sure the spell had been that great of an idea, after all.

He managed to keep his focus and continued the incantation nevertheless. Even he knew about the horrendous outcomes of a summoning stopped midway.

When he finished reciting the spell, his voice was shaking from the mental strain the incantation was having on his body. He gritted his teeth. Summoning magic was hard.

By then, the smoke was so thick he could barely see the other side of the room, let alone his circle. The screeching sound had faded.

Tooru sighed with relief. Okay. So it hadn’t worked. Too bad because he wasn’t going to try this again anytime so—

“Oi! What happened to me?! Why am I not a dragon?”

Oikawa heart’s stopped.

He slowly brought his gaze to his circle, where there was humanoid figure crouching on the floor. He pinched himself and gulped once he realized the silhouette was still there.

The smoke was starting to dissipate and soon he was able to see the newcomer more clearly. He had the shape of a man. A very attractive man, mind you. A very attractive,  _naked_ man. Even with the horns, the pointy ears and—Holy shit! Was that a fucking tail?—he remained super attractive, in a weird, mysterious, supernatural kind of way.

His skin was dark and dotted with patched of blue scales and he seemed pretty ripped.

 _Oh god,_  Oikawa thought,  _look at those arms. Look at those abs._

He jumped when their stares met. Two black orbs, blinking at him in surprise.

“Oi!” the stranger repeated angrily, ”Why did you summoned me? Why the hell am I not a dragon?”

Oikawa tried to answer, but his throat was dry. Plus, heck if he knew? He had no idea why his dragon familiar wasn’t a dragon but a hot dude with horns and a tail. He sure as hell wasn't going to complain, though.

The man/dragon/familiar/ whatever Oikawa had managed to summoned lost his patience and stood up amazingly fast, trying to cross the casting circle. He ran into an invisible wall and Oikawa felt it like a punch in the guts. He lost his balance, out of breath, and fell to the floor, the room turning around him.

“Hey!? Wait!” The stranger exclaimed.

Was that…concern in his voice?

The last thing Oikawa thought before passing out was that if he had known that it was possible to summon handsome men out of the blue, he might have done it sooner.

 

 

 

 

The cold woke him up and he stood up, shivering. Why the hell was his apartment so cold all of a sudden? The room was dark, safe from the light of a single candle that had escaped its fate. Oikawa stumbled and leaned on the wall for support.

His head was pounding horribly.

 “Ow,” he said, wincing

His voice made condensation in the air in front of him and he narrowed his eyes. What?

Rubbing his arms, Oikawa made his way to his circle, standing untouched in the middle of his living room. There had to be something unnatural going on. The cold surely wasn’t caused by a problem with his heater. Sure, October was pretty chilly this year, but still.

Disoriented, he realized the smoke from his spell was completely gone and that the man/dragon he had summoned had vanished.

He didn’t know whether to feel disappointed or relieved.

 

“Oh, you woke up.”

Oikawa shrieked and looked around him in panic. Where was that voice coming from?

“Down here, you idiot!”

He glanced down inside the circle and his eyes met those of a very displeased and very tiny dragon.

“W-What? What the hell?” he sputtered, crouching down to his level.

He carefully remained on the outside of the circle, wary.

The thing was small, maybe only a little bigger than his hand, but there were no mistakes. This was definitely the stranger from earlier. Same blue-green scales, same black eyes.

“So you're a dragon now, huh," he commented. 

How interesting. Were all familiars able to switch form at will? "How come you’re so small, then? Aren’t dragons supposed to be big and all?” he asked, any form of apprehension vanishing.

He was kind of cute.

The dragon stared at him angrily and wiped his tail in annoyance. “It’s cold, “he deadpanned, “This form is easier to keep warm. ”

Oh. Dragons were cold-blooded creatures, right?

_I guess that makes sense._

This form was a lot less intimidating than the human one. Perhaps the summoning hadn’t been a complete failure, after all. But, hell if Oikawa knew how he was supposed to handle a familiar. He cursed at himself for his lack of preparation. Obviously, he shouldn’t have tried it just for fun.

“My name is Oikawa Tooru,” Oikawa introduced himself, “ And erm… Who are you exactly?” he asked.

Should he allow the dragon outside the circle immediately? Was exchanging name the right thing to do?

“Are you kidding me? You summon me, you contract me, and you don’t even know who I am?”

The dragon sounded more disbelieving than angry.

“Well, you surely have a name, no?” Oikawa tried again, “A cute dragon like you~” he cooed.

The dragon growled lowly. “I’m not cute!” he snapped.

Oikawa crooked his head to the side.

“You don’t have a name, then?”

“Iwaizumi,” the dragon mumbled.

“That’s it? That’s your full name?”

The dragon didn’t answer. Oikawa’s eyes twinkled.

“Want me to give you a proper name?”

“I have a full name!” the dragon protested, “I just, don’t want to tell you.”

“Well that’s too bad~” Oikawa sang, “Because from now on, you’re Iwa-chan!”

The dragon glared at him, annoyance clear in his eyes. Oikawa smiled widely.

 “So,”  _Iwa-chan_  said, whipping his tail again, ”Are you going to let me out or not? Unless you want to pass out again in which case I can fix that,” he added.

“Mean! Iwa-chan!” Oikawa gasped, “that’s no way to speak to your master!”

Iwa-chan huffed.

“What kind of master leaves his new familiar to die in a summoning circle? I’m a familiar. We are linked. I cannot hurt you.”

Hum. Yeah he had a point. Oikawa guessed it would be safe enough to let him step out by now. He stood up carefully and erased a small part of his circle with his sleeve to allow the dragon to step outside safely. Iwaizumi approached the breach sniffing and, very slowly and looking straight at Oikawa as if to make sure he wasn’t going to faint again, he stepped on the other side.

The sensation in Oikawa’s guts was very different from last time. A lot smoother. Softer also.

But as soon as Iwaizumi was completely out of the circle, the familiar started shivering uncontrollably.

“Shit,” he cursed, “It’s a lot colder on this side.”

Oikawa stared at him in panic. Cold-blooded animals could die if they were too cold, right? He grabbed him on reflex and shoved the small dragon underneath his shirt. Body heat would have to do.

“Oi! What are you doing, you idiot?” the dragon complained.

But he wasn’t moving or struggling (thank god or else his claws would have tore Oikawa apart) so Tooru took it as a good sign. Eventually, the dragon nestled against his chest, wrapping his tail around his waist.

Oikawa had a moment of self-realization. What the fuck was he doing? Iwa-chan was cute and all but he could be dangerous for all he knew.

“Hey,” the dragon poked his nose out of Oikawa’s collar, “Are you going to keep standing there or are you actually going to lie down? Your energy is still pretty low, you know. Aren’t humans supposed to sleep at night?”

Oikawa narrowed his eyes.

“Not that I’m worried about you or anything,” the dragon huffed, “This whole thing would just be a lot more comfortable with you lying down, that’s it.”

Tooru chuckled.

“Alright, alright~”

Sensitive and logical decisions could wait until morning, he decided. And familiars were link to their masters, right? That meant he was safe. He would have to call Suga in the morning, though. Just to make sure. Or perhaps Kunimi. Maybe both.

Holding Iwaizumi in his shirt, he quickly reset the thermostat and went to his room. The cold was another mystery that would have to wait until morning.

 

 

-

 

 

This time, it’s warmth that woke Oikawa up.

 _Hot,_  he thought, trying to move his limbs under the pile of covers that were burying him. He failed and his eyes opened in shock. Wait—Were those arms around his chest? And shit—he wasn’t lying on his pillow, his cheek was actually resting on a naked shoulder and—hold the fuck up!  Why was a tail circling his waist?

Oh right. Iwaizumi.

Oikawa struggled, trying to escape his hold, and moaned in pain when his cheek raked against the scales on the other man chest.

Of course he would have regained his original form now that the cold wasn’t an issue! Iwaizumi had seemed a lot more comfortable in his human shape after all.

Oikawa stopped moving.

That meant he was also naked.

Oikawa felt his cheeks burning at the thought and he tried even harder to get out of the bed. His left cheek was throbbing, and he could feel the blood starting to run down his face.

Iwaizumi shifted in his sleep, grabbing Oikawa in an even tighter hold and the latter whimpered. That’s it. He was condemned to either die of embarrassment or die of suffocation.

Iwaizumi nose suddenly twitched and he opened his eyes.

“…Are you bleeding?”

Oikawa laughed forcibly.

“ _That’s_  what woke you up?”

Iwaizumi lessened his grip and Oikawa scurried out of bed as fast as he could.

Only then he realized that he was also pretty much naked, safe from his boxers. He squealed and grabbed the first pair of pants he could find.

“Y-You!” he pointed an accusatory finger at a very confused Iwaizumi, “What have you done to me?”

Iwaizumi raised an eyebrow.

“That,” he answered pointing between Oikawa’s legs, “is not my fault. I believe it’s a normal human reaction.”

Oikawa stared down at himself in horror. Of course. Morning wood.

Incredible timing.

 Truly amazing.

Not awkward in the least.

He was pretty sure that by now, he was the living definition of a full body blush paired up with an embarrassing mental short-circuit

“If you’re talking about the reason why you don’t have a shirt on” Iwaizumi went on, shrugging, “ It’s because it was in the way. I heard humans transfer body heat more efficiently directly skin on skin.”

_Skin on skin._

That meant he had taken off his clothes.

That made it.

Oikawa surrendered and ran into the bathroom where he locked himself in.

“Put on some damn clothes!” he yelled against the door.

“What? Why?”

A familiar had been a very , very bad idea.

 

 

-

 

 

“Weird smoke? A drop in room temperature? Uncalled gusts of wind?”

Oikawa nodded fervently. “And also weird noises,” he supplied.

Kunimi sighed and closed his book.

“Not good. It’s probably a demon, Oikawa.”

Oikawa bit his lip.

“Suga told me the same thing.”

Kunimi looked at him with curiosity. “And you felt the need to confirm it? Sugawara is more experimented than I am, you know.”

“Well,” Oikawa hesitated, “It’s just that he—Iwaizumi— doesn’t seem aware of it? Like he told me he was a familiar and,” he added thinking back at the way he had woken up in the morning,” he sure do behave like one. Do you think he was lying?”

Kunimi furrowed his brows.

“No? I mean casting circles usually prevent their host from lying to their summoners, no matter if they summon a demon or some other spirit.”

Oikawa sighed. This was getting complicated. Iwa-chan was wrapped around his neck in his tiny dragon form, unaware of what was going on around him all thanks to some kind of deafening and blinding spell Suga had managed to put on him. His familiar looked like he was sleeping. He had struggled at first, but Oikawa had insisted and Iwaizumi had surrendered, grumbling unhappily.

That spell was pretty useful for when you wanted to discuss about someone you couldn’t really get separated from. (They had tried to this morning –once Iwaizumi had begrudgingly agreed to wear at least a pair of pants and after Oikawa had taken a very cold shower and patched up his bleeding cheek— and Oikawa had ended up with a nosebleed just from going two floors down. He had found a very angry Iwaizumi crouched on the floor in a similar state when he had gotten back to his apartment. They both concluded this hadn’t been the best idea.)

“But maybe,” Kunimi ventured hesitantly, “That it has something to do with your circle? Maybe the blood you added somehow changed the essence of the summoning? I mean, “He went on, tapping his pencil against his cheek,” Iwaizumi might have switched from a familiar to something else during the summoning. It’s not a lie if he is not aware of it. What are the symbols on which you dropped the blood?”

Tooru took a moment to answer.

“I think it was  _power_  and  _protection_.”

“That’s it?”

“Well, yeah. I think so. Those are the only two I wanted to add blood on, at least.”

Kunimi sighed and stood up.

“You should check just to make sure. Because dragon magic  _is_  dangerous. And if it’s mixed with demonic summoning on top of it, you’ve got a big storm coming.”

Oikawa nodded numbly and stood up as well.

“Anyways, thanks a lot, Kunimi.”

“No problem, just be careful!”

 _Don’t fuck up again_ was implied. Oikawa nodded.

“Oh! Can I ask you to lift the spell on Iwa-chan? It won’t be necessary anymore~”

Kunimi obliged, reciting a few words under his breath and then gently tapping on Iwaizumi’s head with his finger. The dragon opened his eyes.

“Iwa-chan!” Oikawa exclaimed, “Can you hear me?”

“I can hear you just fine, Shittykawa.”

 Oikawa beamed and Kunimi stared at them with amusement.

 

 

 -

 

 

The temperature outside was murky and dark, with heavy clouds rolling low in the sky above them. A faint rain was falling, annoying enough to soak clothes without their owners straight up realizing it. Plus, the wind was pretty cold.

Oikawa shivered and raised up his scarf higher on his neck.

“Are you cold, Iwa-chan?”

The small dragon poked his head under Oikawa’s chin.

“I’m not cold,” he mumbled.

Oikawa chuckled to himself.

There was no way Iwa-chan was a demon.

The walk back home was fast, but Oikawa couldn’t shake off a weird feeling of uneasiness that started to creep in under his skin, like something dangerous was bound to happen.

The feeling didn’t disappear, even when he opened the door of his place. If anything, it got worse. The air inside his apartment smelled foul, and Oikawa suddenly felt dizzy.

“Oikawa?”

Iwa-chan scurried out of his coat and switched to his human form just in time to grab him before he fell to the floor. His black eyes were wide with concern

“Hey, Oikawa! What’s going on?”

Tooru blinked a few times, trying to clear the fog in his mind. What  _was_  going on?

“Iwa-chan,” he whispered weakly,” Don’t you smell anything weird?”

Iwaizumi looked around suspiciously.

“I don’t  _smell_  anything weird,” he said after a moment, “But this place definitely  _feels_ weird.”

Oikawa sighed with relief. Great. So he wasn’t the only one. He leaned on Iwaizumi to stand up.

When he entered his living room, he almost fainted. The smell was even stronger, a mix of decomposition and rotten eggs and it took all his strength not to throw up on the floor. Iwaizumi went to stand beside him and came to an abrupt stop

“Oikawa,” Iwa-chan called him with urgency in his voice, “I think we found the problem.”

In the middle of his living room, exactly where his casting circle had stood, were now tons and tons of black mushrooms, covering the floor and starting to eat at furniture. Well, there was no point in trying to figure things out now, was it? Oikawa scrunched his nose in disgust.

“Iwa-chan, please tell me you can smell it.”

Iwaizumi seemed confused.

“I,” he stated, “really don’t smell anything.”

Oikawa shrugged it off and grabbed the other’s arm, leading him out of the room.

“Whatever. But we are not staying here a second longer.”

“What are we doing?”

“We’re going to crash at Suga’s place,” Oikawa answered entering his room and picking up random pieces of clothing he shoved into a bag,” And hopefully Kuroo and Daichi are going to be there and maybe they will have some answers for us.”

Iwaizumi, whom had stop in the doorway, made a face. Oikawa giggled against his will.

“I promise he won’t put another spell on you, okay? I swear it~”

His familiar slowly nodded.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	2. Orange

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Have a little taste of iwaoi fighting chemistry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god I never expected so many people to be this interested in the fic???? I can't believe this  
> Thanks a lot for all the kudos and comments you guys are amazing! *clutches chest*
> 
> Also, someone drew a thing?? holy shit  
> http://plead-guilty-but-insane.tumblr.com/post/119270349437/yaboykeiji-recently-started-this-dragon-au-ft

« Yes Suga you heard me. I have an evil fairy ring in my living room and it smells like death so I’m coming over.»

But the thing was, fairy rings weren’t supposed to be evil.

They were supposed to be a sign of luck. They grew near magical sources of energy, like a casting circle, but usually outside, in forests or swamps.

But then again the mushrooms weren’t supposed to be black and smell like rotten eggs either.

Clutching his cellphone in one hand, Oikawa casted a worried glance at Iwaizumi walking beside him. His familiar had decided to remain in his human form for a reason he had refused to give him. Iwaizumi had both his hands shoved in his pocket to hide his claws and he wore a big black hoodie that went over his head, dissimulating his horns. He looked like a normal human alright. If it wasn’t for the deep black of his eyes and the weird lump on his back, his disguise was perfect. But it was already pretty dark outside and the passers-by were small in numbers so it didn’t worry Oikawa that much.

Iwa-chan had easily agreed to wear clothes, much to Oikawa’s surprise. He could only imagine how uncomfortable it must be to wear multiple layers of clothing over a goddamn tail.

Even if at first he had been highly troubled by the very nakedness of his familiar, he started to understand why Iwa-chan was so reluctant to get dressed. Even if that still embarrassed him to the highest point.

 

“You’re with your familiar, right?” Suga asked over the phone.

Oikawa furrowed his brows. “Well, yes. Why?”

“The evening feels weird,” Suga hummed, “Even if we don’t know what Iwaizumi is exactly, I think it’s safe to assume that he would protect you in case anything happen, especially if you used your blood for the summoning. So stick with him, would you?”

Oikawa’s expression darkened. Suga’s instinct was usually pretty good. This didn’t announce anything great. He eyed his surroundings with caution.

“Got you~” he answered in his normal cheerful voice. It’s not like he had the choice anyways. He hung up.

 

Tooru sighed.

Sugawara was a pretty experienced witch, specialized in spells and purification rituals. He leaded their magic Circle along with Akaashi, and Oikawa had learned to respect his vast knowledge of supernatural energy. He had been the one to introduce him to magic, offering him to join their Circle after seeing him peeking around curiously in the spells and potions section of their local library. His intuition was almost never wrong.

 

“Are we still far?” Iwaizumi asked, putting him out of his thoughts.

“Why do you ask, Iwa-chan? Are you tired yet? If you’re cold you can switch back to your tiny dragon form, you know. It’s way cuter than your frowning human face~ “

Iwaizumi scowled.

“Shut up,” he grunted, “I’m just wondering because of this weird shadow thing that has been following us for a while. It’s starting to creep me out.”

Oikawa carefully turned around, but the streets were empty as far as he could see.

  “Iwa-chan,” he started, “I don’t –“

He didn’t get to finish his sentence.

Iwaizumi tackled him to the ground, shielding him with his body as the wall behind them literally shattered to pieces. Oikawa grunted in pain, stunned by the impact. He blinked rapidly, trying to get up in a sitting position. Iwaizumi was already standing in front of him in a defensive motion, his lowered hood revealing his horns.

His familiar hissed.

In front of them stood a weird figure without any particular shape, exclusively made off of dancing shadows that were twisting around themselves like hundreds of small snakes. It stood, unmoving, a few meters away from Iwaizumi.

“ _Ooooh what do we have here?”_

Oikawa winced and covered his ears on reflex. The way the thing spoke reminded him of the sound fingernails made when you were scraping them against a black board.

“ _A familiar?”_ the thing wondered, “ _Or…something else? This smell is…”_

It chuckled.

It seemed to find the whole situation very amusing, much to Oikawa’s dismay.

“Iwa-chan,” he tried, reaching for the shirt of his familiar.

“Don’t,” Iwaizumi said, without turning back, “Stay right where you are.”

Oikawa froze and let his hand fall back. He stood up slowly, making sure he remained behind Iwaizumi. His familiar shot him a quick glance at the corner of his eye and the creature took advantage of the small opening to lunge another attack.

Iwa-chan was quick to react, breathing out a large flow of orange flames on their opponent. Oikawa gasped and stared at him in awe while the thing screeched and retracted its shadows. A smell of burnt rubber filled the air.

Oh, right.

 His familiar was a dragon.

At least, part dragon, but still.

As if on cue, iwa-chan’s tail popped out from underneath his clothes, whipping the air around him angrily.

“ _FireFireFireFireFireFireFireFireFireFire,”_ the creature screamed.

Iwaizumi growled low in his throat, exhaling smoke through his nose, and Oikawa gulped. He was terrifying.  Good thing Iwa-chan was on his side, huh?

He felt suddenly really, really thankful for having a familiar.

Iwaizumi stood between him and the monster, panting slightly. The shadows twisted angrily on themselves and the creature howled, but didn’t attack.

“Iwa-chan,” Oikawa whispered, “What _is_ this thing?”

“This,” Iwaizumi answered him, “is probably a demon. A nasty demon, probably pretty weak judging by his aversion of fire.”

A demon.

No big deal.

Oikawa was a witch, right? It didn’t matter if it was the first time he was actually seeing a demon in the flesh. He had to do something.

He never read anything about getting rid of them, tough. Only through exorcisms, but this was not a possession, so purification spells wouldn’t work, right? What the fuck was he supposed to do?

He breathed deeply.

“Can…Can you, you know, kill it?”

Iwaizumi shook his head slowly, his gaze still fixated on the monster before them.

“I can hurt it alright. But I can’t really kill those kinds of demons. They are not even strong enough to have a tangible body in this dimension,” he said through gritted teeth, “They feel pain and can inflict damage, though,” he added, “Our only option is to send it right back where it’s from.”

Iwaizumi glanced at Oikawa expectantly. “You’re a witch, no? Don’t you have a spell or a trick or anything you can think of that could help us?”

Oikawa raised up the sleeves of his coat. He could at least try.

Iwaizumi shot him a glance.

 “Don’t do anything stupid, though” he warned him.

Oikawa laughed shortly.

“Quite the opposite in fact. Don’t worry about me, Iwa-chan~”

He crouched down, grabbing an old chuck of chalk he had in his coat pocket.

 He could feel iwaizumi inquisitive glare on him. His familiar looked a bit taken aback by his sudden change in attitude, but Oikawa’s focus was too great to let it bother him.

He carefully drew a casting circle of good dimensions on the ground. The demon tried to attack again with an unpleasant hissing sound, but Iwaizumi easily deflected the shadows with his fire.

“Keep it occupied, would you, Iwa-chan?” Oikawa requested in a pleasant tone.

“What does it look like I’m doing, Shittykawa?”

Oikawa smiled and didn’t answer. He was going to trust Iwa-chan on this one.

 _“You think you will be strong enough to stop me?”_ the demon snickered, taunting, launching another attack, “ _Fire only hurt when it can actually reach me!”_

Again with that mocking tone.

Iwaizumi growled and threw another breath of flames in its direction. The shadows coiled.

Oikawa completed his circle in record time, quickly scribbling down the runes for purification and concealment on the outlines.

_Good. This should work._

It wasn’t really an exorcism, but honestly, he didn’t see how else they were supposed to handle this demon.

“Iwa-chan.”

“Yes, I got it.”

Without missing a beat, his familiar changed the direction of his attacks so that the demon would have no other choice put to step in the circle Oikawa had drew on the floor. He managed to corner the creature in a ring of flames.

It struggled, shrieking, but soon enough it was standing in the middle of the magic circle, trapped inside by Oikawa’s concealment runes.

The outlines of the casting disk shone bright red and Oikawa hurried to recite a basic exorcist spell, one of the few he knew by heart. His brows furrowed in concentration as he was mentally praying to get the Latin pronunciation correctly.

Much to his relief, it seemed to work. The red light around the demon increased in intensity and smoke enveloped the wailing creature like a drape of death.

With one last screech the monster was gone, leaving nothing but a few ashes on the ground and a sour smell in the air.

Oikawa’s legs wobbled.

Iwa-chan magically appeared beside him, slinging an arm around his waist to support him.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

“Yeah. I think,” Oikawa hummed closing his eyes with a sigh, “Magic is just pretty tiring for me, I’m not used to it yet, I guess. Thanks though” he added “That was pretty good teamwork~”

 _Pretty good teamwork_ was an understatement considering he had summoned Iwaizumi less than 24 hours ago. They were already working as one, with deadly efficiency. Oikawa wasn’t sure about how he felt about that, honestly. Should he worry?

Iwaizumi made a small noise of acknowledgement.

“Yeah. But I think we should go now. This place is a wreck,” he noted, glancing around them.

 _A wreck_ was another understatement. The road was a mess, the wall behind them was completely destroyed, and the ground was full of weird twitching bits of demons, some of them still burning. A police siren could be heard in the distance.

Oikawa felt thankful that no one had been around to witness the whole thing.

“Yeah,” he agreed, “let’s get out of here.”

Before they could move, a tall figure suddenly appeared in front of them, jumping from the roof directly into the street.

Iwaizumi immediately adopted a defensive stance, but Oikawa stopped him with a hand on his shoulder once he recognized the distinctive bed hair of the man standing in front of them.

“Kuroo!” he exclaimed, “What are you doing here?”

Kuroo smirked.

“Suga sent me, but you guys didn’t even need the help. I don’t know why he bothered, really.”

“How did he know?” Iwaizumi wondered out loud.

“Divination,” Kuroo answered, shrugging.

Oikawa raised an eyebrow, dubious.

“Really?”

Yeah okay. Suga had a good intuition, but divination was something only Akaashi could do as far as Oikawa knew.

“Nan. I’m kidding,” Kuroo grinned, “Apparently, you pocket dialed him. He freaked out.”

Oikawa took out his phone from his back pocket.

>4 missed calls

>11 texts from Suga

“It must have called him when Iwa-chan savagely pushed me to the ground, then~,” Oikawa concluded, smiling.

“I saved your ass, _dumbass_.”

“Aw, Iwa-chan! Don’t be so grumpy! You’re my hero~” he teased poking his cheek, “My savior~”

“Oi,” Iwaizumi said, trying to grab his hand, “Stop it, you’re annoying!”

Kuroo was staring at them with a mix of amusement and curiosity, mostly aimed at Iwaizumi.

“I don’t want to interrupt you guys,” he commented, “But I’d rather go before the police arrive.”

Oikawa nodded.

“Let’s go~”

 

 

Suga lived in a huge house near the city center. His place was surrounded by trees and plants and his residence was covered in multiple repelling spells and protective charms. It served as some kind of headquarters for a lot of people involved a little or a lot with magic, and witches, vampires, faeries, and even some inoffensive demons came and went throughout the day (and the night) making his place always bustling with activity. Most of the visitors were looking for potions or healing spells Suga specialized in doing.

Even with all the circulation, the whole domain felt really relaxing and at night, fireflies and small fairies gathered around his garden, giving the yard a fantastic and surreal atmosphere Oikawa absolutely loved.

Outdoor magic lessons in Sugawara’s backyard were his favorites.

Before they could even make it to the front door, Suga yanked it open and basically threw himself in Oikawa’s arms.

“Tooru!” he yelled, “I was so worried!”

Oikawa patted his back awkwardly.

“Aha! Sorry~ Sorry~”

Despite having met each other in the morning (about Iwaizumi) and having spoken on the phone (just before the demon’s attack), Sugawara was acting as if he hadn’t seen him in ages.

His eyes went wide when he saw Iwaizumi.

“And this is what your familiar look like in his human form, huh?”

His tone was appreciative. He turned around Iwaizumi, fascinated. “That’s crazy! He still have his scales and all and— _Oh!,”_ he blurted out, delighted, “A tail!”

Iwaizumi yanked his tail away from Suga’s reach, glaring at him.

Kuroo intervened. “Could we, I don’t know, get inside? I’m freezing my ass off.”

Suga reluctantly tore his gaze away from Iwaizumi and stepped aside to let them pass.

 

Oikawa sighed with relief at the warmth the inside of the house offered them. A quick look at his familiar confirmed he felt just the same.

Suga leaded them to the living room, where he plopped down on a sofa.

“Sit down, all of you,” he requested with a serious expression on his face, “I want to hear everything from the start.”

Oikawa obliged, settling down on the sofa facing Suga’s. Iwaizumi switched into his small dragon form—much to Suga’s disappointment—and settled comfortably into Oikawa’s lap.

Kuroo’s grin twitched at the sight.

Oikawa told them everything, starting from his summoning until their fight with the demon, mentioning every single detail he could remember.

Kuroo and Suga listened with attention, nodding occasionally. When he finished, Suga stretched and sighed.

“Well, this doesn’t look too good. I think I’ll have to ask Akaashi about it. He knows more about that stuff than I do. Plus,” he added referring to their first phone call, “You already know what I think.”

He glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. “He and Daichi should be back soon anyways. They were on a small mission for me.”

Marking his words, a loud knock on the front door resonated in the house, making them jump.

Suga left the room mumbling something under his breath about _no matter how many times I told him he doesn’t need to knock, he does it anyway.  I hate this guy._

He came back pretty fast, holding Daichi’s hand with a grin on his face.

Daichi smiled at them. The corners of his lips stalled for a moment when he saw the tiny dragon on Oikawa’s thighs, but he regained his composure pretty fast.

“Hello,” he greeted politely, “Suga told me you had a rough day, huh?”

“You have no idea,” Oikawa sighed.

“Hey hey hey!”

They all turned around to see Akaashi and his demon, Bokuto, standing in the doorway. Akaashi’s demon was an owl demon the witch had contracted maybe two or three years ago, and he was uncharacteristically loud, particularly when put next to Akaashi.

Bokuto was in human form, only his white and grey hair giving away his origins. He yelled loudly when he saw Kuroo and the two ran toward each other, chests bumping.

“Bro!” the demon cried out, “I missed you so much!”

“I missed you too, Bro!” Kuroo answered, patting his back energetically.

The two of them had form an unlikely friendship back in the days and Kuroo was probably the only one except Akaashi who could use part of the demon power in a fight.

“Oh. I missed you too, Oikawa,” Bokuto exclaimed, acknowledging Oikawa’s presence.

“No need for this~” Oikawa replied easily, still sitting on the sofa, “I got used to you playing favorites a long time ago, don’t worry~”

Kuroo laughed and Bokuto pouted slightly. Oikawa swore he could see Akaashi’s lips twitch.

The other witch made his way over and sat down next to him on the sofa. He pointed at Iwaizumi who had tensed up in Oikawa’s lap.

“So he’s the one you summoned, right?”

His voice was soft and composed and that was one think Oikawa absolutely loved about Akaashi. He could count on him to remain level-headed in all situations.

He nodded.

“Yeah. Iwa-chan,” he nudged at his familiar, “Please say hi to Akaashi~”

The dragon reluctantly made eye contact with the witch and Oikawa could see Akaashi’s brows furrowing when he notice the dark color of Iwa-chan’s irises.

“Hello,” the familiar gruffed.

Akaashi smiled softly. “Does he know?” he asked Oikawa.

“About what?”

“About you wondering about his true nature,” the witch shrugged.

Oikawa could feel the embarrassment creeping up on his cheeks as Iwaizumi shot him a curious glare.

“Not-Not exactly,” he mumbled.

“I could see why you’d want to keep it from him,” Akaashi nodded, unfazed by Oikawa’s unease, “But I think he ought to know, by now. Especially after your fight with that demon.”

Oikawa opened his mouth to ask him how he knew about it but he remembered.

Right. Divination.

Or perhaps Suga had told him?

“Maybe he knows something, too,” Akaashi went on,”I’d like to hear what he thinks before sharing my own thoughts.”

Iwaizumi swiftly regained his human form, still sitting on Oikawa’s lap.

Oikawa’s cheeks burned and his mind froze until his familiar casually moved away to sit on his other side.

“What exactly are we talking about? Is this related to the spell Sugawara put on me this morning?” Iwaizumi asked, apparently still bitter from the memory.

Oikawa laughed nervously.

“Yeah, you could say that.”

Akaashi motioned him to continue. Oikawa suddenly realized that all the sounds in the room had died off and that everyone around them was now paying close attention to what was going on.

Well, almost everyone.

“Holy shit, where does he come from?” Bokuto loudly whispered to Kuroo, “I thought I was the only demon in this room!”

Everybody froze.

Kuroo clamped his hand on Bokuto’s mouth.

“A demon..? I don’t get it,” Iwaizumi shook his head.

Akaashi and Suga both looked at Oikawa.

“Erm,” he began, eloquently, “You know, when I summoned you and at first you were freaking out because you weren’t a dragon?”

Iwaizumi nodded slowly.

“Well, if you were _only_ a familiar, you obviously wouldn’t have a human form, right? And yet you can easily switch between those two shapes.”

“What’s that even supposed to mean?”

Oikawa took a deep breath.

“I…might have fooled around with your casting circle when I summoned you? By adding my blood?” he exhaled.

Iwaizumi looked completely lost.

“What’s he trying to say, “Akaashi supplied, “is that his summoning might have altered the very essence of your existence, making you some kind of hybrid between demon and familiar.”

“How is that even possible?” Iwaizumi mumbled, looking at his hands, “I don’t feel like a demon.”

He seemed so confused. Oikawa felt a pang of guilt in his stomach.

“Well,” Akaashi remarked, “the only way for us to know for sure if you have a bit of demon in you is to make you do something only demons can do.”

“Akaashi! “ Suga gasped, “You can’t be thinking about what I think you’re thinking!”

“Sugawara, it’s the only way to make sure our guess is right,” Akaashi insisted.

“But Oikawa is too inexperienced!” Suga protested.

“Who says it has to be him?”

Oikawa suddenly felt cold.

“What are you guys talking about?” he whispered weakly.

Akaashi looked at him dead in the eyes.

“Demonic possession.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading once again!  
> I didn't have the time to proofread this a lot so i apologize in advance for any mistakes I might have made.  
> Also, I'm leaving for a few days on a school trip so next chapter will probably be somewhere next week!!
> 
> Disclaimer: A lot of these ideas are inspired by headcanons Mars (yaboykeiji on tumblr) thought about and this au remains mostly her doing along with Jane's (the-red-bowl)


	3. Silver

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> make a dragon wanna retire man (and also a certain witch)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a busy week! Sorry about that and thank you all for your patience!! Here is the next chapter c:
> 
> Also, for information, in this fic Suga is genderfluid and uses he/them pronouns!!

A thick silence welcomed Akaashi’s words.

Oikawa blinked and licked his lips. “Isn’t that like, super dangerous?”

He didn’t know a lot about demonic possession. Actually, what he knew came mostly from stories about possessions that had turned horribly wrong and that wasn’t reassuring in the least.

Akaashi smiled faintly.

“Frankly, it depends how it’s done. I use it all the time with Bokuto –It’s quite powerful—but I have no idea how you and Iwaizumi would react to it.”

Oikawa’s eyes widened. He hadn’t known it was a common practice for witches with contracted demons.

“Yet you still think it would be a good idea,” Suga stated, obviously still doubting.

On the couch next to Oikawa, Iwaizumi was following the discussion with interest.

“Like I said, it’s the only way we would know for sure if Iwaizumi has something demonic in him or not.”

The familiar shifted slightly on his seat. “What,” he started, “if I really am a demon?  Then what?

 _Then what?_ Oikawa repeated to himself.

Would he be able to break his link with Iwa-chan and send his familiar back where he was from?

Would he want to?

Akaashi looked at Iwaizumi with an unreadable expression on his face. “We will see then I suppose. There is no point in stressing about it now when we aren’t even a hundred per cent sure.”

Iwaizumi nodded slowly and Suga whispered bitterly under his breath, “When you put it like that I guess it makes sense, doesn’t it?” Daichi hummed gently and started to rub small, soothing, circular motions on Sugawara’s palm.

As usual, Daichi preferred to stay on the sidelines during conversations he didn’t know a lot about.

 _Wise man,_ Oikawa thought.

“He does smell like a demon,” Bokuto mumbled, pouting.

Something flashed in Oikawa’s mind and he turned to face Akaashi. “What did you mean when you said it didn’t have to be me?”

Earlier, during his short argument with Sugawara, Oikawa remembered the witch distinctly saying something among those lines when Suga had mentioned the fact that Oikawa was too inexperienced.

“I meant that I could do it with Iwaizumi, I don’t mind,” Akaashi deadpanned.

“No!”

Everyone turned to face Iwaizumi with various levels of surprise written on their face.

Iwa-chan looked like he wanted to shrink on himself, but he managed to keep his composure. “I think I’d rather it be Oikawa,” he said, looking at his lap, “no offence.”

“No offence taken,” Akaashi shrugged, “I was offering because I know Oikawa summoned you just yesterday night and well, I thought my experience could be useful considering the circumstances and all.”

Kuroo, whom had remained silent until then, cleared his throat.

“If you are worried about their chemistry,” he spoke up, “I wouldn’t. I saw them working together in that fight with the demon. It was impressive—and I don’t say things like that lightly.”

Akaashi seemed to ponder his words for a moment. “I trust your judgement,” he finally said, “And if they are both comfortable with the idea, I see no problem.”

Oikawa’s stare shifted on Suga, seeking approbation. The other witch still seemed pretty bothered by the idea, but when he sensed Oikawa’s eyes on him, he smiled softly, “Why not? We will help too, right Akaashi?”

Akaashi eyed him suspiciously, probably wondering what had changed his mind. “Of course.”

When Oikawa turned to face his familiar, Iwaizumi was staring blankly at the wall in front of him.

 

 

 

 

_

 

 

 

 

Sugawara’s backyard was exactly as Oikawa remembered. Tall trees were looming over them all around, but their view of the night sky wasn’t too obstructed by the leaves that were left and the scrawny oak branches. The night was chilly and their breaths left small cloud of condensation in front of their mouths, much like when Oikawa had first summoned Iwa-chan. Fireflies were still dancing around, even at this time of the year, and Oikawa suspected that Suga had had to put some kind of spell for them not to freeze to death. Near the house, plant beds were still full of various plants and flowers, confirming the fact that some magic had to be at work.

Akaashi had leaded them to a more deserted part of the backyard, away from the house and from any precious or rare kind of plant Suga would have rip their heads off for damaging.

Sugawara was busy putting up concealing walls of energy around their residence because _demonic magic is strong and the last thing I want is to attract an exorcist in my house._ Daichi was with them.

Iwaizumi kept nervously shifting his weight from one foot to the other in grass and Oikawa was starting to think that his familiar was acting a lot more apprehensive than what he ought to. After all, Iwa-chan hadn’t been that opposed to the idea, right? If anyone had to be apprehensive, it had to be him. Demonic possession wasn’t something Oikawa would have tried before at least another 4 years of intensive magical studies. He gulped.

Bokuto stood next to Akaashi, while Kuroo had disappeared somewhere in the trees, probably to make sure no creatures were going to bother them. Or off to see Kenma.

Probably off to see Kenma.

“I take it you know what demonic possession implies?” Akaashi asked Oikawa.

Tooru jumped,” W-Well kinda?” he answered, unsure, “I read about them a bit, but I’m not sure I know everything I should know,” he admitted.

And by _read about them a bit,_ Oikawa meant he actually didn’t know shit about demonic magic, let alone demonic possession. Well, safe from those few terrifying stories, but hopefully that kind of knowledge wouldn’t be necessary.

Akaashi gave an inquisitive glance at Iwaizumi, but the familiar shook his head. “Sorry, I don’t think I am much more knowledgeable than he is.”

Akaashi nodded quickly. “Tell me what you two already know and I’ll fill up where you lack.”

Oikawa sighed with relief. Akaashi was actually a really good teacher and he was glad he was going to back them up.

“So, as far as I know, “Oikawa started, “Iwa-chan will have to lose his physical form in order to merge with me or something.”

Iwaizumi shot him a glare and crossed his arms on his chest.

“What is it Iwa-chan?”

“You could have phrased it differently.”

Oikawa ignored the way Iwaizumi’s arms muscles were looking even more defined in this position and shrugged with a smile, “What’s it matter, Iwa-chan~? As long as you get what I mean!”

“Oikawa is kinda right, actually,” Akaashi intervened, “You two will have to fuse. Watch,” he added.

He nudged at Bokuto, who happily complied. The demon’s body seemed to melt into some kind of smoke which vaguely resembled an owl. Akaashi inhaled it and when he opened his eyes, both his orbs were pitch black, with a glint of silver.

“Hey hey hey!” he exclaimed with Bokuto’s voice, throwing both his arms in the air, “It’s been a while!”

Oikawa couldn’t repress from smiling. Iwa-chan’s lips twitched upward. Seeing Akaashi with such an out of character expression was off-setting to say the least.

The witch soon regained his usual face, much to Oikawa’s regret.

“Sharing a body can reveal itself to be pretty tedious, but you get used to it,” the voice was still Bokuto’s, but the tone was most definitely Akaashi’s. Oikawa swore he could hear the demon giggling.

Akaashi brought his left hand up and immediately, a powerful gust of wind raised, shaking the branches, rustling the dead leaves on the ground, and making Oikawa’s hair fly everywhere in his face.

 _“Ventus,”_ Akaashi whispered, “ _Fumus duc nos quo tendimus.”_

Dark smoke raised from the ground in small spirals. “What’s great about demonic possession is that you can use powerful magic without any casting circles,” this time Akaashi’s voice was completely his, “It’s all about trusting each other.”

The smoke was now circling Akaashi’s feet. Oikawa took a few steps back, just in case.

“This spell is not dangerous for you, don’t worry,” Akaashi assured.

The smoke was now growing denser, lifting from the ground in one thick pitch black fog curtain. Akaashi’s silhouette was slowly disappearing behind it.

Soon, all Oikawa could see was a vague mist figure with bright silver eyes flashing through the smoke.

Tooru blinked and when he opened his eyes, everything had disappeared.

 

 

Both the smoke.

And Akaashi.

“Woah,” he breathed out. An invisibility spell, huh? Pretty neat. He had never seen Akaashi use his magic this way before. It was impressive.

God, Tooru couldn’t wait to try it.

Next to him, Iwa-chan was looking equally fascinated.

Oikawa had to remind himself that this was in fact _demonic_ magic and they weren’t even sure if Iwa-chan _was_ a demon in the first place.

He almost felt disappointed.

Akaashi and Bokuto reappeared smoothly with a _woosh_ sound.

“Ooh~” Oikawa couldn’t help but clap his hands, “That was so cool!”

“I KNOW RIGHT?” Bokuto exclaimed, “AKAASHI, WE ARE SO COOL!”

He grasped Akaashi’s shoulders and energetically shook him.

“Bokuto,” the witch sighed. His demon slowly stopped shaking him, a pout already appearing on his traits, “I know that already. There is no need for you to be this excited about it. ”

Bokuto’s eyes shined and he grabbed Akaashi in a tight hug, lifting him from the ground.

“Akaashi!”

Akaashi didn’t react, as if he were expecting it to happen.

 _Or maybe he was hoping it would,_ Oikawa thought with a smile.

When Bokuto finally lowered him on the ground, Akaashi cleared his throat, a faint blush on his cheeks, “That was hum—only an example of what demonic possession can do. Don’t get me wrong, it still _is_ dangerous and you will still have to be able to synch with one another and discover which kind of magic you feel the most comfortable using –for us it’s smoke but yours is probably going to be different –and all of that, granted that Iwaizumi _is_ a demon, of course.”

Oikawa and Iwaizumi exchanged a look.  

The moment of truth. It was now or never. They nodded at each other.

_Let’s do this._

“So,” Iwa-chan asked Akaashi, scratching his head, “how exactly does this work?”

“Oikawa,” Akaashi called, “please draw the runes for “opening” on both your wrists. It’s going to help you. And Iwaizumi, “he said, turning in his direction while Oikawa complied hurriedly, “you will have to let go.”

“Let go?” The familiar repeated.

Akaashi nodded, “If you are a demon, you must have to exert some kind of control on yourself for your form to remain physical. It needs to go. And remember, the first time you try is always the hardest.”

Iwaizumi’s brows furrowed in confusion.

“What he means,” Bokuto supplied,” is that you must try to open the “gates” that keep your body together. You should be able to unlock them or something. Your true form is probably hiding somewhere inside you. The deeper it’s stuck, the harder it will be for you to find it. If you have any, that is.”

Oikawa didn’t understand a word of what the demon had said, but judging by Iwaizumi focused expression, it must have meant something for him.

He stared at the sigils he had drawn on his arms. Were they really going to help?

Sugawara and Daichi suddenly reappeared from the bushes on their left, making Oikawa jump. Suga was sporting a worried expression on his face.

“What is it?” Akaashi inquired, “Something’s wrong?”

Suga shook his head, “Not really. The concealing walls were just a lot harder to put up than what they ought to be. They should have been able to hide your trick with Bokuto, though. And hopefully,” he added, glancing at Iwaizumi, still concentrating, “they will be strong enough to keep in whatever comes out of this experiment.”

Oikawa searched for traces of resentment or disapproval on their face, but all he found was worrying and resignation.

“I take it we haven’t missed the show, then?” Daichi asked with his hands on his hips.

“No~” Oikawa answered, “Iwa-chan is still figuring out this whole demon thing. I think it’s safe to assume noth—“

He didn’t finish.

Next to him, his familiar abruptly switched to his dragon form, flopping to the ground. His scales turned a deep shade of blue.

“Iwa..chan?”

The dragon didn’t answer.

“Hey, Iwa-chan,” Oikawa said, crouching down, forehead creased with worry.

He extended a hand to touch him, “Oikawa, wait!” Sugawara warned.

His familiar switched forms once again.

Instead of the half-dragon-half-hot-boy Oikawa expected, Iwa-chan just vanished and Tooru’s hands grasped the air.

He whipped around in panic.

His breath caught up in his throat when he realized that Iwa-chan had not in fact disappeared, but was now standing over him in the shape of a real dragon, all tall and terrifying with smoke coming out of his snout.

“He did it!” Bokuto yelled.

Judging by Akaashi, Sugawara, and Daichi’s expression, he was the only one to be happy about it.

 _This_ was Iwa-chan’s demonic form?

Oikawa fell on his butt, heart racing in his chest. He couldn’t take his eyes off the creature standing in front of him. Iwa-chan looked elegant, in a way, and incredibly powerful. He was tall enough so that his head could easily protrude from the treetops when he stood and lean enough to fit between two tree trunks. His scales were shimmering in the faint moonlight and Oikawa couldn’t help but think that he was _beautiful._ His eyes remained the same as ever, two blackness wells filled with surprise but this time, a glint of something else also flickered in his familiar dark eyeballs.

Greed? Thirst for power?

Oikawa couldn’t linger on the thought, because Iwa-chan suddenly caught fire.

Like, _literally_ caught fire.

Orange flames appearing from nowhere started licking at his familiar’s skin, throwing silver and gold sparks in the air around him. Iwaizumi seemed unperturbed by it and blinked lazily at Oikawa.

_Does he not feel any pain?_

“Iwa-chan,” Oikawa called weakly.

“What the fuck?! Is this some kind of spontaneous combustion?” Daichi said, tone laced with disbelief and sounding as overwhelmed as Oikawa felt.

The familiar didn’t answer and the flames grew in intensity. Both Suga and Akaashi took a few steps back, putting their hands in front of their faces to protect themselves from the heat.

Daichi did the same a few moments later and coughed, ”What the fuck,” he repeated.

Bokuto was perched on a tall tree branch, observing the commotion with a lot of interest, but keeping an eye on his master just in case.  

Oikawa could see Akaashi reciting a few spells under his breath, which he guessed were heat repellants or something, but he couldn’t bring himself to fucking move. Even if the heat was growing more and more painful by the second, his limbs remained frozen in place and he was unable to lift a single finger.

By now, the flames were entirely covering Iwaizumi’s body, much like the smoke had done with Bokuto a few minutes earlier.

The flames grazed at Oikawa’s skin, but didn’t burn. On his forearms, the sigils were shining faintly.

He noticed for the first time the translucent aspect of the dragon.

_A spirit?_

_Or rather, his ethereal demonic form,_ Oikawa corrected himself.

Iwa-chan moved.

He rolled up on himself and came around Oikawa, wrapping himself around him like a blazing whirlpool of fire.

In a moment of panic, Oikawa did the only think he could think of: he inhaled.

Bad idea.

He blinked rapidly, tears forming at the corners of his eyes.

He was actually breathing fire—real fucking fire—and swallowing it and god—it was burning, scorching his insides, choking him from within.

How was he not dead?

But the worst thing was that the flames felt _alive._ As if they had a mind of their own. The sensation of a foreign intrusion into his own body added to the blazing hotness made Oikawa feel dizzy.

His breath caught up in his throat and the last thing he saw before a black curtain fell in front of his eyes, was Suga and Akaashi running toward him. He remembered thinking he had managed to fuck up yet again, maybe even more than when he had summoned Iwa-chan, if that was possible.

Then everything went dark.

 

 

 

 

_

 

 

 

 

 

This was not what Akaashi had signed up for. Heck no.

In front of him, Oikawa was now floating in mid-air, twirling fire around his fingers with a fascinated expression on his traits. Notwithstanding the black of his eyes, he seemed rather normal except _nothing_ about this was actually normal.

Oikawa was a beginner at magic.

An amateur.

He shouldn’t have been able to pull out a levitation spell so effortlessly, let alone a _fucking demonic possession._ When Akaashi had proposed the experiment, he had expected Iwaizumi to manage the switch to his demonic form. That’s it.

It was supposed to confirm their doubts. Point to the line.

The demonic possession had been a taunt for both Oikawa and his familiar.

 _Funny how it backfired,_ he thought bitterly. Now they had to deal with what seemed to be a very instable possession, with a dangerously powerful demon in the game. He cursed his inability to react faster.

At least the fire had died off.

“Oikawa,” he called the boy, “can you hear me?”

Oikawa slowly lift his gaze from his own fingers to stare at Akaashi.

Upon seeing his blank expression, the witch winced.

Not. Good.

“Of course I do,” Oikawa said with an uninterested look on his face, “What do you want with me?”

His tone was icy cold, dripping with arrogance. This was not the Oikawa Tooru that he knew. But it wasn’t Iwaizumi either. How weird. Akaashi had never seen a possession where the instigator didn’t adopt one of his hosts’ personalities. That didn’t seem like it was a mix of them both either.

He glanced at Suga, thankful for the fact that they weren’t the type to be resentful, and found the same worry he felt on their face. Next to them, Daichi was frozen in place, still processing what had just happened.

“Do you know where Iwaizumi is right now?’” Suga asked carefully.

Oikawa crooked his head to the side, “Why does it matter? I am here right now. And I’m way more powerful than he is.”

Akaashi shuddered. The worst part was that he wasn’t lying. His whole aura screamed _danger_ and frankly, Akaashi _was_ afraid, as much as he hated to admit it.

At least, Oikawa—or whoever he was—didn’t seem to want to attack them.

His demon chose this moment to get off the tree and landed smoothly next to him. Oikawa followed the movement with his eyes, but didn’t bulge. Bokuto stared at Oikawa, wary and unusually silent.

“ _Bokuto,”_ Akaashi called him with his mind. The demon didn’t jump, used to their unconventional methods of communication, “ _I need you to listen to me very, very carefully.”_

As he was about to explain his plan to his demon, two silhouettes suddenly materialized right in the middle of their small circle.

Suga yelped softly before cursing under his breath.

The newcomers were two tall men, wearing the black and silver uniforms of the exorcists. One of them wore a profoundly displeased expression on a face that seemed usually stoic. Akaashi recognized him as Ushijima, at the head of the Exorcists clave.

He had never seen the other man before. The guy was smiling from ear to ear, looking deeply amused by the whole situation. Judging by the way they had both appeared out of thin air, Akaashi suspected that he was way more than just an ordinary exorcist.

_This doesn’t sound good._

He felt the slim control he still had on the situation slowly slipping between his fingers.

“Well, well, well,” the guy smirked, looking up at Oikawa, “look what we have here!”

Oikawa hissed and Suga gave Akaashi a pleading look.

 

_What now?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As usual thanks for reading!! c: I'll try to update once a week from now on so let's see how this goes!


	4. Red

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akaashi Keiji saves the day (again)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god, this took longer than expected!  
> Sorry about that! I had trouble writing this chapter, but I didn't want to do a half-assed job and ended up rewriting most of it ugh.  
> Anyway, please enjoy!

Ushijima bowed politely, “Sorry to intrude. We sensed a rather unusual flux of magic coming from around here and decided to take a look.”

His gaze shifted on Oikawa, still floating in the air in a defensive stance.

“I’ve never seen that demon before,” he commented, “is he dangerous?”

Suga shifted nervously from one foot to another. “He isn’t exactly a demon, though,” they answered, purposefully ignoring the real question because frankly, they had absolutely no idea if whether or not possessed Oikawa was a threat.

Hopefully not.

“Oh~,” Ushijima’s companion sang, “See how they didn’t answer?”

Ushijima gave him a warning look, “Yeah, I’ve noticed. This is Tendou,” he said introducing his partner to the rest of them,” he’s a Nephilim and he specializes in exorcisms, hence our collaboration with him.”

Tendou made a peace sign and beamed.

Suga gulped. A Nephilim? Shit. The situation was even worse than they thought. Next to them, Daichi visibly stiffened, apparently aware of what it meant.

Akaashi seemed to share their state of mind. The witch exchanged a glance with his demon and Bokuto switched into his animal form, a grey owl with golden eyes, and perched himself on Akaashi’s left shoulder. Bokuto remained silent, sensing the way everyone was on edge. Suga had to hand it to him, despite his outgoing nature, the demon was actually pretty perceptive.

“This won’t change anything, Akaashi Keiji,” Ushijima said, “We didn’t come here for you. Your demon is already registered and we haven’t perceived any demonic energy coming from his part.”

Akaashi shrugged, Bokuto remaining in place on his shoulder.

Suga almost sighed with relief. Good. So at least their concealing spells hadn’t been completely in vain.

The new Clave was pretty flexible on the rules, but with conservative families like Ushijima’s you never knew. They allowed witches to summon demons, provided that these demons became registered at the Clave first, and under the strict condition that they didn’t use their powers too freely. Exorcists were there to make sure those conditions were dutifully respected by every witch and had the right to decide arbitrarily of the consequences if they weren’t. Suga had had a few problems with them in the past, seeing as their shop attracted all kinds of creatures—including undocumented demons— but nothing serious enough to make them close definitely.

It didn’t mean that they liked having those visits, though. Exorcists had a way of getting under your skin.

“Sugawara,” Ushijima called, “is he one of your customers?”

Suga tried real hard to repress a shudder at the way the Exorcist’s eyes shone bright with an unforgiving glow.

“No, he’s not,” they mumbled, looking at their feet.

_Damn, he’s intimidating._

Daichi shot them a worried glance.

“There are actually two of them, am I right?” Tendou asked, getting closer to Oikawa with a pensive expression on his face, “They don’t look that threatening, though.” He poked at his leg.

“Do you _want_ me to obliterate you?” Oikawa asked innocently, crooking his head to the side while slowly getting down on the ground.

Everyone stared at him and Tendou froze on the spot.

It was the first complete sentence Oikawa had said since the Exorcists had arrived and honestly, Suga had hoped for a little bit more restraint on his part. Who knew how a Nephilim would react to a taunt?

Tendou blinked a few times in surprise before laughing loudly, “Ah man! At least he can bark! It’s no fun when they don’t!”

He took a few steps back nonetheless.

“Tendou,” Ushijima called, unperturbed, “What do you mean ‘two of them’? Is this not a demon?”

_So he didn’t believe me when I said it, huh?_

“Nope,” Tendou shook his head with a grin, _“Fairy_ here was telling the truth, “ Suga ears rang at the use of the familiar nickname and Daichi frowned, clenching his fists. “My guess would be we got here right in the middle of a demonic possession. So technically, it’s not _just_ a demon, no,” Tendou continued, either not aware or not caring about the effects his words had on them.

“A possession?” Ushijima repeated, face not giving away any hints about his feelings.

 _Shit,_ Suga cursed under their breath. Possessions, although more and more popular with witches, remained a pretty taboo topic in the vast majority of magic circles.

Why couldn’t this Nephilim be a little less sharp? Suga whined mentally. A little less sharp and a tad more respectful, in the best of both worlds.

Oikawa was looking at his nails, apparently uninterested now that he wasn’t directly affected by what was going on around him.

 _“Hey Suga,”_ Akaashi’s voice echoed in their mind.

Suga couldn’t help but jumping slightly. He looked at Akaashi, who just blinked slowly at them. Sugawara never really got used to Akaashi being able to communicate through telepathy.

_But Okay. I got it. Act Natural, Suga._

 “ _I have a plan. Implying a little help from my part, Oikawa should be back soon, with Iwaizumi. Please trust me.”_

“How is this possible?” Suga blurted out, without thinking.

Tendou chuckled, “I don’t know, _fairy._ You tell me.”

Suga slapped themselves mentally.

So much for acting natural, huh.

And what was up with that annoying nickname for God’s sake? There was no way in hell this Nephilim knew about his faerie roots!

He gave Tendou a dark glare.

“ _Remember the runes I asked Oikawa to draw on his arms?”_ Akaashi went on in their head as if nothing had happened, “ _Well the opening rune actually works both ways. And if I get close enough to Oikawa to draw the’ key’ rune on his back, the combination of both should be able to wake him up. If he understands what I’m trying to do.”_

Suga narrowed his eyes. Had Akaashi thought about this even before the actual possession? Even when he had insisted said possession wouldn’t even have to take place?

At least, he had come prepared, Suga had to hand it to him.

And god, just how smart was he?

 _It’s worth a chance, at the very least. We have nothing to lose_.

“You are probably wondering how I can tell so easily, huh?” Tendou asked, hands on his hips, unaware of their inner conversation, “Well, it’s because I, as a Nephilim, can actually sense souls. Pretty neat, huh?”

 _Thank god Nephilims are so full of themselves!_ Suga thought.

“Oh, I see,” they nodded, “That’s pretty cool.”

“So this person is possessed, is that correct?” Ushijima asked, straightforward as ever, pointing in Oikawa’s direction, “I’m willing to let it pass if you can prove me this possession is actually under control,” he deadpanned.

“Don’t worry about it,” Akaashi said calmly stepping in Oikawa’s direction.

Bokuto suddenly regained his human form, making both Ushijima and Tendou jump.

“Uwaaah!” he exclaimed loud as ever, running a hand through his hair, “Sorry about that! It was getting pretty cramped in there! I know it doesn’t look like it, but those legs actually take a lot of place! Plus, I really do look better in this form, huh?” He laughed obnoxiously.

Suga was staring at Akaashi in awe. They had no idea how, but the witch had managed, in the very short amount of time where both Exorcists had lowered their guard due to the surprise occasioned by Bokuto’s sudden appearance, to carefully drew the ‘key’ symbol on Oikawa’s back.

Damn, Akaashi really was someone Suga was glad to have on their side.

Oikawa was staring at them with a blank gaze. _At least, his cold expression is gone_ , Suga thought.

Akaashi waved his hand in front of Oikawa’s face, “Hey now. Come back to us.”

 

 

 

 

_

 

 

 

 

 

_“..kawa!”_

“Oikawa!”

Oikawa stirred and his eyes fluttered open. Someone was calling his name.

He frowned when he found out he had fallen asleep while standing upright.

How weird.

“Oikawa!”

He turned in the direction of the voice, the motion slow and languid, his movements impeded as if he was stuck in something incredibly syrupy.

His frown deepened when he realized he still couldn’t see a thing. Everything around him remained perfect darkness. For all he knew, his eyes could still be closed and there wouldn’t be any difference.

Where was he?

“Oikawa?”

This time, the voice was clear and seemed to be coming from somewhere on his left. Oikawa extended a hand and his palm made contact with something both hard and sharp. He jumped slightly.

...Scales?

“Iwa-chan!” he called out as soon as the realization hit him. What the hell was going on? Why was his familiar with him?

_Where were they?_

A hand closed on his own and fingers wrapped themselves around his wrist.

“Oikawa!” Iwa-chan said again, this time with relief laced around his words, “What’s going on?”

“I was about to ask you the same thing,” Oikawa answered, eyes narrowing.

Iwa-chan’s hand was warm and reassuring and Oikawa’s entire body felt cold in comparison to the small part of his skin touching his familiar’s fingers.

Almost all of his body, actually.

On both his forearms, two ‘opening’ runes were pulsating faintly and they were starting to feel warm. The two entwined lines forming the sigil on his arms were glowing a soft red.

Oikawa stiffened.

The possession.

He got off Iwa-chan’s grip to look at both his hands, discerning their shape with the faint glow coming from the runes. Oikawa had never seen runes behaving like that before. He had never been possessed before either, but he was pretty sure it wasn’t feeling the way it was supposed to. He was feeling completely shut down from reality, rather than more powerful. If anything, what he felt right now was an utter and complete lack of control.

“Are you okay?”

Oikawa looked at his familiar.

He couldn’t see his traits, but Iwa-chan seemed as worried as he was. And he sounded weird. Was that guilt Oikawa sensed behind his words?

Well.

They both knew what that possession meant: Iwaizumi was a demon and Oikawa had somehow contracted him as a familiar.

Which wasn’t really supposed to happen, seeing as it was bound to bring them a whole new deal of problems.

Demons should be contracted, not summoned and restrained with a familiar spell.

The spell was too weak to coerce powerful beings like demons, the risk for the summoning witch, too high. Demons were cunning and malicious creatures, and unless contracted, there was no telling to what lengths they were ready to go to obtain their freedom in the material world.

But then again, the familiar spell linked master and familiar in a way that made their separation practically impossible.

And Oikawa trusted Iwa-chan. Maybe wrongly so, but he did.

As a witch, he always had had a good instinct and he had learned to rely on it. Why should he be wrong about that?

_But never mind all of this._

This wasn’t the time nor the place—the hell were they anyway— to discuss about it. They should use all their energy trying to go back to Suga and Akaashi.

“I’m fine Iwa-chan~” he finally answered clapping both his hands together. The sound echoed for a moment in the air around them, “Let’s just get out of here, okay?”

Iwa-chan made a noise at the back of his throat. “That reminds me,” Oikawa snapped his fingers, “Why didn’t you use your flames to look for me earlier? It would have been easier, no?”

“Somehow I can’t use any fire magic in here. I’m not completely stupid, you know,” Iwaizumi grumbled, shooting him a glare Oikawa could only guess in the dark.

“Not completely, no,” Oikawa conceded with a grin.

_It must mean we are not in our physical bodies or something._

“Do you want me to hit you?”

“That would be counterproductive Iwa-chan!” Oikawa whined, falsely offended.

Iwaizumi was about to grab him in a headlock when the two sigils on his arms started to glow a lot brighter.

“What the…” his familiar took a few steps back.

Something clicked in Oikawa’s mind and he remembered one of Akaashi’s lessons from a while ago.

_“Granted that you have what it takes to unlock it, a door opens in two directions.”_

“The rune!” he exclaimed, “I know how to go back, Iwa-chan!”

The twin runes! He should have known Akaashi had something in mind when he had asked him to draw those before the possession.

He started jumping excitedly, “If what I think is happening is really happening, then Akaashi has already made the first step so that is left is to—“

He drew a key rune with the tip of his index on his chest, near his heart.

 

 

And, just like that, they were back.

Oikawa blinked a few times, adjusting to the light. He had no idea how it happened, but it worked. Next to him, Iwa-chan stumbled a little before standing tall on his feet again, looking menacing as ever in his human form.

The first thing he saw was Akaashi, sighing with relief. He understood why when he caught sight of the two Exorcists, standing a few meters away from him. His face scrunched up in disgust when he saw Ushijima next to a strange looking guy.

What a timing.

Daichi stood near Suga, looking completely overwhelmed and Bokuto was glancing over them, wearing a concerned expression.

“ _Act natural,”_ Akaashi’s voice in his head was sharp and pressing and Oikawa deducted that the situation must have been pretty tensed before their arrival, “ _Let me do the talking. Ushijima has a Nephilim with him, we won’t have a second chance.”_

“Oh! Looks like everything’s fine,” strange-looking-guy said, almost sounding disappointed..

 _“He must be the Nephilim,”_ Oikawa thought, _“He’s not quite how I imagined them to be like.”_

He met his stare and had to repress a flinch at the sight. Both the Nephilim’s eyes were filled with curiosity, but a kind of curiosity that reminded Oikawa of the way a predator would inspect his next meal with interest, a dangerous kind of curiosity when directed at someone with an illegal demon familiar.

He gulped.

Iwa-chan growled low in his throat, sensing the animosity between the two of them, and the Nephilim eyes shone bright in recognition at the way his familiar moved to stand in front of Oikawa, shielding him from his scrutinizing gaze.

“That’s a rather protective demon you got there,” the Nephilim commented, smirking, “It’s a shame he’s not registered! I bet you’ll miss his protection once we’ll take him away from you.”

“W-What?” Oikawa sputtered.

Taking Iwa-chan away from him?

He shot a panic glance at his familiar, but before he could say anything, Akaashi stepped in, “Hold up!”

“What is it, Akaashi Keiji?” Ushijima demanded. The Exorcist seemed composed, as usual, although Oikawa could see the way the corners of his eyes were twitching in annoyance, “Rules are rules. We won’t arrest Oikawa for misusing his demon’s power, but the demon remains unregistered and that is illegal.”

“Exactly my point,” Akaashi said calmly, “Witches have 48 hours to declare their demons, correct?”

Ushijima’s brows furrowed in confusion, “Well, yes. But that is irrelevant. There is no way a witch would attempt a possession before tha—“

“He did.”

“What?” the Nephilim exclaimed, wide-eyed, “That’s impossible! Wakatoshi, they must be lying, there is no other options!”

“Tendou,” Ushijima called, “let me judge by myself.”

Tendou clenched his teeth but shut up and Oikawa looked at Ushijima with terror. Just how much power, how much authority did this man possessed to have a being as powerful as a Nephilm completely submissive to his orders?

Ushijima stared at Akaashi and Oikawa could feel the witch shuddering from his inspection. The Exorcist was probably performing a scan to see if he was lying and there were high chances the process didn’t exactly feel comfortable. Especially if Akaashi had to kept information from him.

“He’s telling the truth,” the Exorcist announced once he was finished. Akaashi let out a shaky exhale and Bokuto came to stand beside him, apprehension on his face, “I guess that means our work here is done.”

“That can’t be right!” Tendou cried out, “That demon, “he said, pointing at Iwaizumi,” is sketchy, that possession was sketchy—I mean who in the world attempts a possession in the day following a summoning, that’s completely crazy!—this whole place is sketchy! I feel like they are playing games with us!” he whined, “We should take away both that witch and his demon,” he glared at Oikawa,” as a precaution. They could be dangerous!”

“Yeah okay,” Sugawara cut in, their voice cold and sharp, “but did they attack you?”

Tendou seemed a little taken aback by their sudden change in attitude. He scratched his head. “Well, not exactly? But who kno—“

“Did they?” Suga asked again, even colder—if that was possible—than before.

Tendou scrunched his eyes, regaining his composure, “I see what you are trying to do here, little _fairy_ , and if I were you, I wouldn’t. Don’t make me hate you too.”

Suga growled low in their throat and both Daichi and Akaashi stepped in to prevent them from launching an attack head first on the Nephilim.

“Don’t let him reach to you,” Akaashi said to them, eying Tendou with a death glare, the same glare that made Oikawa shudder whenever it was addressed to him during lessons, “He’s taunting you.”

Tendou laughed, “And you too, Akaashi Keiji,” he spat, “You have a demon, don’t you? It would be a shame if we were to leave with him as well.”

Both Bokuto and Iwaizumi clenched their teeth, moving imperceptibly closer to their masters.

“And why would you leave with them in the first place?” Akaashi asked, unperturbed,” Like Suga said, our demons didn’t attack anyone and we haven’t broken any rules.”

“There is nothing that would justify you taking them away.”

Tendou smirked.

“Oh?”

Ushijima narrowed his eyes and tugged at his companion’s sleeve. “Tendou, there is no point to all of this,” he declared, “They used magic on an unregistered demon, but that is not our problem anymore. They respected the delays. We came here to check on this unusual source of magic, that’s it.” His jaw was clenched and his tone was severe.

To Oikawa’s surprise, the Nephilim broke his stare with Suga and backed off.

“Alright,” he agreed easily with a grin.

Ushijima turned his attention on Sugawara, Akaashi and Oikawa.

“We’ll be leaving. But we will keep an eye on you both from now on” he said.

He drew a form in the air and Oikawa gasped when he recognize the Eye, symbol of the ultimate all-seeing spell of the Exorcists.

They really were being kept on check.

The symbol shone in the air for a brief moment before melting into the ground and Ushijima gave a cold glance in Tooru’s direction.

 _You too,_ his eyes were saying, _we will have an eye on you too, be sure of it._

Then, Tendou winked at Suga and nonchalantly grabbed Ushijima’s arm, resolutely avoiding Oikawa’s gaze. They vanished in an instant, leaving nothing but the dreading feeling of their spell behind them.

 

Akaashi sighed with relief, tension leaving his shoulders.

“Well, that was close,” Daichi announced, voicing their thoughts out loud.

Suga nodded, “And now this,” he pointed at the ground,” is going to be super bad for business.”

“Unless you got yourself a Revoker!

They all turned around to see Kuroo, stepping out of the woods, holding a small creature with blond hair and dark roots by their hand. The newcomer was looking uncomfortable as hell and kept their gaze on the ground.

“Kenma!” Suga and Oikawa exclaimed at the same time.

“Kuroo!” Daichi frowned, “Where have you been?”

Kuroo smiled smugly, “I had to make sure they didn’t find out about Kenma.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And agender Kenma makes their entrance! 
> 
> Thanks for reading! ^^


	5. blue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> things are getting complicated

“Oooooh, to protect Kenma, then,” Bokuto broke in with a grin, “Good thinking! I bet those exorcists would have found them super interesting.”

Kenma was a forest nymph living in Sugawara’s backyard and Kuroo had grown weirdly attached to them over the last years. Suga had been teaching them a few helpful potions recipes and had put them in charge of their precious garden. The nymph knew a lot of very useful spells and charms as well and had agreed to help them a few times already in the past. They specialized in revoking magic, a type of magic meant to cancel out others, which was pretty useful for curing poisoning or lifting unwanted high level surveillance spells, for instance. Kenma didn’t look like it, but they actually enjoy helping out witches, as long as they respected their personal space, of course. Oikawa didn’t really get them as a person, but he had the utmost respect for both their dedication and their skills.

And for their ability to make Kuroo shut the fuck up. That too.

Kuroo nodded with a grin. “Couldn’t risk it.”

Kenma raised their eyes from the ground, golden irises fixated on Tooru.

“What happened?” they asked softly, still holding on Kuroo’s hand much to the latter’s satisfaction.

Oikawa gulped. Where to start?

Akaashi answered in his place. “Long story short, Oikawa involuntary summoned a demon as a dragon familiar –we weren’t sure but it looks like we just had the confirmation—and Exorcists showed up at the worst possible timing and put an all-seeing spell on Sugawara’s domain.”

“There was a Nephilim, too,” Suga added grimly.

_Well. When you put it that way._

“Looks like we missed quite the show,” Kuroo whistles appreciatively, ”What do you say Kenma? Wanna give them a hand?”

“Sure,” the nymph shrugged, “I’m not sure about what I can do without them noticing, especially if a Nephilim is involved, but I can try.”

“That’s all we’d ever ask from you,” Akaashi answered, bowing slightly.

“Then I’ll get to it right now.”

“Thanks a lot Kenma,” Sugaware said, looking genuinely relieved, “I appreciate it. This spell would be pretty bad for my business—and for us too. I mean, who would want Exorcists showing up every time they use demonic magic?”

“I don’t mind.” Kenma smiled shyly. “It might take a while, though,” they added with a crease of eyebrows, “A Nephilim is pretty bad news.”

The nymph crouched down on the ground, feeling the grass under the palm of their hand with their head crooked to the side. “This spell is pretty powerful,” they muttered, speaking to themselves, their pointy ears twitching in concentration.

 “I think we should give Kenma some space,” Daichi declared, “And I’m starting to get cold.”

Oikawa hummed in agreement, aware that the nymph preferred working when less people were around. “Me too. Let’s go inside Iwa-chan~” he called, reaching for his familiar’s arm.

Iwa-chan nodded with a blank expression on his face.

Oikawa felt a pinch of worry in his stomach. Iwa-chan hadn’t uttered a single word since they had gotten back from wherever they had been and his silence was starting to make Oikawa anxious. He wasn’t sure what exactly was going to change in their relationship now that Iwa-chan was a demon (or rather now that they knew he was one), but Tooru was hoping they could manage to keep whatever chemistry they had going on.

Unless Akaashi or Suga forced them to nullify the contract.

Could they do that?

Should he agree?

Tooru nervously licked his lips and clutched at Iwa-chan’s arm tighter. No way. His familiar shot him a glance, but didn’t react.

Walking in front of them, Akaashi hadn’t said a thing, but Oikawa could read his disapproval in the stiffness of his shoulders. He would probably want to have a talk with them considering the unexpected outcome of the possession spell and Tooru wasn’t sure he was looking forward to it.

Actually, he knew he wasn’t.

_I don’t want to lose Iwa-chan._

 

The silvery light of Kenma’s magic illuminated the whole backyard, briefly carving Kuroo’s features against the dark of the night and giving the man the noble look of a marble statue. He was leaning against a tree trunk, body relaxed but eyes alert.

 _Despite everything, he looks strangely at peace,_ Oikawa thought, glancing over his shoulder.

 

 

Once again, the interior of Suga’s house provided them some much welcomed heat and their small group huddled on the couches in Sugawara’s living room. Oikawa hadn’t let go of Iwaizumi’s arm and he wasn’t planning to. Strangely, his familiar seemed pretty okay with it and sat down next to him without protesting. Sugawara lied down in Daichi’s lap and rubbed their eyes with a sigh while Akaashi and Bokuto sat down straight on their sofa. It lasted for a good two seconds before the demon looped his arms around Akaashi’s torso and perched his chin in the crook of his shoulder. The witch winced slightly but didn’t comment.

“I think we have a lot of things to talk about,” he said instead.

Oikawa sighed. Well, this came as no surprise.

“But,” Akaashi went on, “It’s pretty late and all of us are tired. I think it would be wiser to postpone our discussion to tomorrow.”

That _was_ a surprise.

“B-but I…” Oikawa stuttered, not really knowing what he was going to say.

“I agree with Akaashi.” Suga yawned, cutting him off. They didn’t move from their position on Daichi’s thighs and the latter snorted and ruffled their hair.

“Suga is completely drained” he smiled softly, stating the obvious, “And so am I. We’ll have clearer minds tomorrow morning.”

“I’ll show you drained,” Suga mumbled tiredly.

“Yeah, yeah.” Daichi shrugged it off and stood up, picking up Suga princess style and carrying them out of the room. “Goodnight! Make yourselves at home and feel free to use the couches or the guest rooms.”

Oikawa couldn’t help but smile at how the man had taken the initiative of inviting them over. Although it had been hinted throughout the evening—and it’s not like it was a super rare occurrence either—Suga probably felt really proud of their boyfriend. They’ve been together for nearly three years, but Daichi seemed to have problems being naturally comfortable inside Sugawara’s house. Perhaps due to all the magical stuff that was always bound to happen?

Akaashi stood up as well, causing his demon to make a distressed noise, and stared at Oikawa and Iwaizumi. He sighed, putting his hands on his hips.

“Can I trust you both to at least wait until tomorrow before causing another ruckus?”

Oikawa cleared his throat before answering. “Yeah. Don’t worry.” He was too tired to try and joke about it and Akaashi probably felt too exhausted to be amused by any wisecracks anyway.

Iwaizumi just nodded and that seemed to satisfy the witch. “Alright then. I’ll see you both first thing in the morning.” His eyes were dark enough to convey the message ‘ _If I don’t, you’ll have some serious problems.’_ “Bokuto,” he then called. The demon promptly sprung to his feet and followed Akaashi out of the room with a cheerful “Goodnight guys!”

 

Oikawa slowly let go of his familiar’s arm and sank deeper into the sofa cushions, hiding his face in his hands. What was he supposed to say?

_Hey Iwa-chan, I know you’re a demon now and that kind of makes our relationship a bit complicated, but do you think it would be possible for us to stay together?_

_Is it too much to ask to go on as if nothing had happened? Even with the whole ‘you’re a demon now’ stuff?_

_You’re still my familiar, right Iwa-chan?_

No matter how he phrased it, he always sounded either selfish, desperate, or completely vain, if not a mix of all three.

He sighed. Good grief.

“Hum. Oikawa?”

He perked up, slightly startled by the sound of Iwa-chan’s voice.

His familiar was looking at him, eyes huge and concerned, knees scrunched up to his chest, and Oikawa couldn’t help but think that ironically, Iwaizumi had never looked more human than in this very moment.

“What is it, Iwa-chan?” He hummed quietly.

His familiar looked away, a faint blush on his cheeks, and scratched his head. “I’m not sure how to say this but…” He stopped talking, clearing his thoughts. Oikawa let him do so patiently. He wasn’t about to interrupt Iwa-chan when he had obviously more courage than him. “…I can’t remember a lot of things from before you summoned me. Most of what I recall are just fleeting impressions or flashes of colors and they never stay long.”

Oikawa raised a brow. He actually never took the time to ask him about his existence before the summoning. Where were demons and familiar before entering their reality? Hell?

Once again, he cursed at his lack of knowledge and made a mental reminder to ask either Iwa-chan or Akaashi about it later.

“But what never changes is the feeling of loneliness. It’s a dark and choking kind of loneliness and it taints every single one of my memories from that time. And…”

Iwaizumi’s words halted again and Oikawa could feel his own heart hammering inside his chest. He knew that feeling all too well.

“What I’m trying to say,” Iwa-chan went on after a short moment,” is I never thought that being summoned would bring me a sense of purpose?”

“Iwa-chan, is this a love confession~?” Oikawa bantered in a playful voice, putting his hand on his chest and fluttering his eyelashes.

“Shut up, Oikawa,” he groaned, “Let me finish.”

Oikawa smiled and shut up because yes. This was how their conversations usually sounded like and it felt good to have it back. He propped his chin in his hand and stared intently at his familiar.

Iwaizumi groaned again, this time the noise more like a low growl and sounding much like a warning. “Oikawa. Stop that.”

“Stop what? I’m not even talking!”

Iwa-chan stared at him with daggers in his eyes and Oikawa couldn’t stop a bubbly kind of laughter from erupting from his throat. His familiar’s stare got even more intense and Tooru put both his hands in front of him in a defensive motion.

“I get it! I get it! There is no need for you to get all worked up, Iwa-chan~,” he chuckled.

“You know what? Nevermind.”

“Awww Iwa-chan!”

His familiar switched into his small dragon form and curled himself in a corner of the couch, huffing proudly. If Oikawa hadn’t been attentive, he would have missed the small smile that appeared (very briefly) on the dragon’s face before being replaced by his usual scowl.

Laughing again, he grabbed one of the blankets Suga kept on a shelf over the fireplace before lying down on his back on the opposite side of the couch. Oikawa extended his legs, careful not to step on the small dragon. Iwa-chan’s scales had remained the same darker shade that they had turned into before the possession and if the color in itself wasn’t weird in the least –it was a pretty shade of dark blue, the kind of blue the sky would appear so at midnight on a clear night—it brought back memories Oikawa would have rather forget before sleeping.

“Iwa-chan, come here,” he called, patting his chest.

The dragon opened an eye and didn’t bulge.

“Come on. I know you’re not sleeping! The lights are still on and everything.”

Iwaizumi closed his eye.

“Iwa-chan~ Do you want to smell my dirty feet all night?” Oikawa tried again, wiggling his toes.

 His familiar opened both his eyes and glared at him, before giving up.

“Whatever,” he sighed, climbing up Oikawa’s legs and torso, purposefully making use of his claws. Much to Oikawa’s relief, he avoided the crotch area and carefully settled on his chest.

“Ouch! Iwa-chan!” Oikawa whined, “You could have been more careful!”

“Sorry.”

He didn’t seem sorry in the least.

Oikawa drew a small sigil in the air with his index and all the lights in the room, safe from the fire, went out. One of the perks of staying over at a witch’s house was the fact that all the lighting functioned thanks to magic and therefore did not require any other actions than to outline a simple rune in the air to switch it on and off. Thank god practicing magic was so draining, though. Otherwise Oikawa was pretty sure he would have gotten out of shape ages ago.

he wrapped one hand around Iwa-chan and the small dragon stirred, but didn’t move.

“Hey, Iwa-chan. You know what?”

“Hm.”

“I feel the same.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“You guys are pretty cute.”

Oikawa grumbled and his eyes fluttered open. Standing right above him, Kuroo was looming over, staring at him with a shit-eating grin on his lips. Iwa-chan had –once again—switched into his human form during the night and was now practically wrapped around him, his head nuzzling at the crook of his neck and both his arms circling his torso. His weight was warm and comfortable and the sound of his breathing, oddly reassuring.

“You’re not,” Oikawa managed to hiss at Kuroo despite the red creeping up his face.

“Wow. Rude.”

Oikawa had been teasing but truth be told, Kuroo really did look like hell this morning. He had huge bags under his eyes and small patches of jet black fur were starting to appear on his jaw and on his collarbones, peeking out from underneath his shirt. Actually, now that Oikawa was paying attention, Kuroo’s pupils were oddly dilated in a way that made them seemed like a cat’s.

Or a panther’s.

That was strange in itself because most of the time Kuroo was pretty careful with his shapeshifting and had adopted his panther features only a few times before in front of Oikawa. In fact, if Sugawara hadn’t told him the truth about Kuroo’s nature, he probably wouldn’t have figured it out on his own.

Shapeshifters, despite what their name implied, couldn’t switch between their different forms as easily as, let’s say, demons. Contrary to most of those, though, shapeshifters usually had more than one form they could adopt. The number varied according to their respective powers, but Kuroo was surprisingly mysterious about his own so the panther was the only one Oikawa knew about so far.

Most of the time, Kuroo kept his human form anyway. Working for Suga meant he had to maintain his human features while out in the city and Oikawa secretly thought Kuroo liked his human body a lot more because Kenma had told him that he looked kinda handsome once. 

“Your bed hair finally managed to invade the rest of your face?”

Kuroo absentmindedly brought a hand to the side of his face. “Oh,” he said stroking the small patches of hair, “Well, I haven’t slept yet. Kenma still hasn’t lifted the spell and I actually came here to make them a coffee.”

Without any other forms of ceremony, he retreated in the kitchen and left Oikawa blinking. That was the way a shapeshifter looked like with symptoms of sleep deprivation?

Interesting.

For blackmailing purposes, at the very least. Kuroo was an ass when it came to those kinds of things and Oikawa didn’t feel nice enough to let it slide.

He looked down at his familiar. Iwa-chan was still sleeping, apparently undisturbed by Kuroo and his antics. His resting face seemed really peaceful without his usual scowl. Oikawa automatically brought a hand to brush at Iwa-chan’s cheek and remembered too late about the treacherous scales dotting his familiar skin. His hand skimmed over the cold flakes and he quickly withdrew it, expecting blood. To his surprise, his skin remained perfectly unscathed and he made a small noise of relief. He didn’t need another bandage like the one already decorating his cheek. He frowned. But still, that was pretty weird. He held his hand in the air, tempted to try again and see if it had been a fluke.

But Iwa-chan stirred, probably awoken by the feeling of Oikawa’s touch on his cheek.

Weird animal instincts.

“What are you doing?” he yawned.

Oikawa opened his mouth with the intent of answering either with a good morning or a witty comment meant to piss him off first thing in the morning, but he was cut short by a loud crash coming from the kitchen. Iwa-chan scrambled on his feet beating Oikawa out of the room and into Sugawara’s kitchen.

The place usually looked more like a chemical lab in quarantine than an actual kitchen and this time, it somehow managed to look even more chaotic. Coffee was spilled everywhere and it was dripping among shards of broken glass. Kuroo was standing in the middle of the mess, frozen in place with a stunned expression on his features.

Oikawa should have known that Kuroo couldn’t make a coffee in his state. He was about to tell the shapeshifter to just _give up man I’m going to make Kenma some coffee just get some sleep alright_ when the man dropped to his knees and brought a hand to his nose.

“Kuroo!”

Oikawa and Iwaizumi both surged forward in his direction, crouching on the floor next to him. Kuroo looked at his hand, incomprehension written on his face. His palm was splattered with blood.

“Ken…ma?” he murmured weakly.

Oikawa’s blood ran cold.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not a single minute of break.

Not one.

Akaashi didn’t mind taking care of their little gang. Most of the time, it was fun. Oikawa was an attentive and ambitious student, Sugawara, a nice partner. They balanced each other quite well and managed to get both the latter’s shop and their circle going. Kuroo and Bokuto were obnoxious but they took their jobs seriously, same went for Daichi except that he was _actually_ serious. And Kenma was just really sweet and a great help for both him and Suga.

But the demon familiar, Ushijima, the Nephilim, that had been too much. He didn’t even get the chance to have a talk with Oikawa about his … predicament with Iwaizumi. Not that he knew exactly what to say, seeing as his situation was rather unusual and both dragon and demonic magic were highly unpredictable but still.

And now Kenma.

The nymph had suddenly passed out after trying to lift the all-seeing spell and staying up all night to do so. While Akaashi had been trying to reanimate them, Bokuto expressing his concern loudly and right into his ear, Iwaizumi and Oikawa had stumbled out of the house, looking panicked and holding a very disoriented Kuroo with a _very_ bloody nose in their arms.

Great. Exactly what they needed right now.

Akaashi furrowed his brows listening to Oikawa’s explanations. Kuroo shouldn’t have this kind of connection with the nymph, that was impossible unless… Unless they were linked somehow. And that bloody nose rang a bell, too.

He wasn’t sure what it involved on his part, but he knew one thing for sure: it meant trouble.

And that was the kind of trouble meaning he wouldn’t have a choice but to request assistance from someone he’d rather not.

Or rather, two someones. Two dead someones.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wheeew  
> finally managed to finish this one! I was blocked for a while but I finally did it!! Sorry for the delay ;;  
> As usual, thank you for reading!!  
> Your comments both here and on tumblr warm my heart and I'm glad to see this fic receiving so much love, it truly is amazing. /You/ guys are amazing <3  
> Also I started another chaptered fic (I know, I know) it's an inception au and im super excited about it so I'll probably alternate the updates between these two works.  
> Thanks for sticking with me!


	6. White

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akaashi is getting serious

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you all for your patience and support it means the world to me! you guys are amazing and I'm really thankful c:

"It's quite an honor to receive a visit from you, Akaashi. “

 

Kunimi had welcomed him in his apartment without any second thoughts as soon as he had mentioned he needed information and that it was quite urgent.

 

“Why didn't you bring Oikawa, though?"

 

He wasn't reproachful but rather curious, his black eyes considering Akaashi in silence. They weren’t, after all, close friends or even acquaintances. They both knew about each other through Oikawa, but that was about it.

 

The witch shook his head, "Because," he said, " he can't even see _them_ yet so what's the point? He’ll learn eventually, but for now I thought it would be wiser to come by myself. I didn’t have the time to come up with a seeing spell either."

 

 _Them_ referred to the two silhouettes floating around Kunimi making faces at Akaashi and bickering behind Kunimi's back. When Akaashi mentioned them, they abruptly stopped their antics and giggled.

 

"Hey Makki! You heard that? The witch can see us! That's a first!"

 

Kunimi eyes lighted up in understanding. "Oh," he said, "Well, that makes sense. Sorry for not introducing you, I guess I got used to people not being aware of their presence."

 

"It's no problem," Akaashi assured him, eyeing the two ghosts with curiosity.

 

Of course he had heard rumors—mostly from Oikawa; although, it had pretty much involved him whining about not being able to see a thing. Tooru had gone to see the witch, begging for Akaashi to find him a seeing spell or ‘even just a discerning one pretty please Akaashi-san~’ but Akaashi had turned him down, making him pout for a few hours, because he thought Oikawa still remained too inexperienced -- about this human being haunted by not one, but two ghosts and acting like he was completely fine with it.

 

Oikawa had also insisted on Kunimi’s impressive knowledge of both spells and the magical world.  It probably wouldn’t take his apprentice too long before putting two and two together. Oikawa was usually pretty perceptive, maybe even more so than Akaashi himself.

 

Akaashi did figure it out, though. No human could use spells without at least basic magic knowledge and as far as he knew, Kunimi had never studied. And yet he could lift even Sugawara’s spells. The explication had to be somewhere in these ghosts. Akaashi’s guess was that the two of them had to have spent a considerable amount of time somewhere between the physical world and the afterlife before being sent back on earth and ending up haunting a Kunimi. At the frontiers of both the Dead and the Living worlds, you must get to see and hear about a lot of stuff, hence their extensive knowledge. Kunimi was most likely assisted by the both of them for his information sessions.

 

 _I’m lucky Tooru met Kunimi and talked to him about me_ , Akaashi thought. That way, it didn’t feel too weird for him to come and seek answers to his questions. He just hoped the ghosts were going to cooperate and agree to help him. They were his last resort.

 

Bokuto had insisted on accompanying him but Akaashi had ultimately decided to lift his summoning for a few hours and had sent his demon back to the other side.  

 

He had said the break was going to help them regenerate—demonic summoning took a great toll on a witch’s body, even for someone like Akaashi; and Bokuto did spent a lot of time in their dimension recently so he probably could use that time to refill his energies as well.

 

Akaashi also needed to be alone with his thoughts for a while, to think about something—anything—that could help them find a solution to Oikawa and Iwaizumi’s situation, while getting rid of the exorcists. And that annoying Nephilim, too.

 

The Exorcists still had no idea about Iwaizumi’s hybrid nature. As far as they were concerned, he was an ordinary demon with an impressive chemistry with his witch summoner, that’s it. Maybe they had doubts—possessed Oikawa had had an interesting affinity with fire and well, Iwaizumi’s human form didn’t conceal a lot of stuff about his dragon origins, but then again, demons came in all shapes so it shouldn’t have been too unsettling for them.

 

Akaashi feared how they were going to proceed once they would learn about it—and they were going to, sooner or later, since Oikawa wouldn’t have the choice but to register Iwaizumi before the evening.

 

He feared for Oikawa. He knew from experience that the feeling of losing a familiar was one of the most heart-wrenching feelings a witch could feel. That and also the fact that he was genuinely starting to appreciate Iwaizumi. Mostly because with him, Oikawa smiled and laughed a lot more and the sight of a happy—a truly, one hundred per cent sincerely happy Tooru without the mask he enjoyed putting on around others were around—was a rare an enjoyable sight.

 

He wished he could protect his happiness at every cost, but he never thought it was going to get so complicated either. It was unnerving. Nothing seemed to be working for him, and he was trying real hard not to let his frustration get the better of his judgment. No matter what he attempted, he felt like staling.

 

Divination had render itself useless; all it showed  had been vague images about death and angels—tombstones, black feathers, rain— which meant both necromancy and Nephilims were involved, but Akaashi had already figured as much. Not a lot of magical entities were strong enough to cast a spell at distance, let alone master the high level necromancy skills necessary to do so. Nephilims could do it though.

 

He sighed. _It’s no use making assumptions now. Let’s do this._

 

The ghosts were staring at him, grinning from ear to ear.

 

Both had pretty human appearances safe for their translucent skin and their blood stained clothes. The tallest of the two had black hair curling on his temples and the shirt he wore was literally covered in holes which looked like something had violently teared through the fabric multiple times. Something sharp, judging by the dark spots of blood splattered all over his torso.

 

The other one had lighter hair and a huge scar decorating his neck. _Like a necklace of death,_ Akaashi thought. ¸

 

Actually, both their deaths weren’t looking like they had been especially pleasant _._ He shuddered.

 

He had already seen ghosts, of course, but never human ones, as surprising as it may seem for a witch of his caliber. But contrary to popular beliefs, human ghosts, or spirits, were a lot less common than animal ones and a lot harder to observe—unless they were haunting someone.

 

"I'm Matsukawa," the dark haired boy introduced himself with a smirk, making a small pirouette in mid-air, "but,” he added wiggling his eyebrows, “you can call me Mattsun~"

He was winking obnoxiously and Akaashi ignored him in favor of listening to the other ghost, "And you?"

 

"Hanamaki," he smiled softly.

 

_Well that's a relief, at least one of them seem serious enou--_

 

"...but you can call me Makki," the ghost finished with a snort. He tried to contain his amusement but soon a crystal-like laughter escaped his throat and his friend immediately joined him in his hilarity.

 

Both Akaashi and Kunimi stared at them in silence.

 

"Good one, Makki," Matsukawa said, wiping away tears of joy.

 

Akaashi sideway glanced in Kunimi's direction. "Are they...Are they always like this?"

 _How in the world are you able to endure the both of them 24/7?_ was implied. It hadn’t even been _that_ funny, right?

 

"They are, but I got used to it," Kunimi shrugged, apparently unperturbed by the ghosts' tricks, "I mean it's not like I had the choice. Being haunted is no joke."

 

"Aw Kunimi!" Hanamaki exclaimed, "Don't say that! We all know you're having a great time!"

 

"Beside," Matsukawa chidded in," Being haunted is always a joke when the both of us are involved."

 

They both snickered and exchanged high fives.

 

"Why didn't you call an exorcist?" Akaashi wondered, genuinely curious as the reason why someone would _voluntary_ keep being haunted. Especially by these two.

 

Kunimi scrunched his nose, "I don't like them--the Exorcists I mean" He ignored the excited whispers of _you heard that? He actually likes us, Mattsun!_ and added "Plus, sometimes they're useful, right? You probably came because you wanted to ask them something anyway, am I correct?"

 

Akaashi nodded slowly, glancing at the ghosts who were now ostentatiously lounging on the couch next to him, fluttering their lashes at him and making kissing noises with their forearms. He sighed.

 

"You're correct."

 

"Hey, hey, hey, witch boy!" Hanamaki called. Akaashi turned in his direction only to immediately lean away, seeing as their noses were practically touching—well figuratively speaking considering the fact that ghosts remained intangible no matter the circumstances—but the feeling remained unpleasant. He glared at Hanamaki.

 

"Don't get maaaad," the ghost whined, "I just wanted to know your name, since _we_ introduced ourselves to you but _you_ didn't return the favor."

 

Akaashi glared harder, "Kunimi said it when I entered," he deadpanned, “I thought you guys heard it.”

 

Hanamaki and Matsukawa exchanged a glance and shrugged, “We didn’t hear it,” they said in unison. Despite their straight faces, Akaashi couldn’t tell if they were being serious or not.

 

“Akaashi,” he offered grudgingly. Like hell he was going to argue with them, though.

 

"Akaashi~"  Makki repeated, rolling the name on his tongue.

 

"Akaaaashi," Mattsukawa mused to himself.

 

"Akaashi," Hanamaki concluded.

 

 

Kunimi cleared his throat. "So, hum. What did you want to ask, Akaashi?”

He eyed the ghosts with a pointed look. _Sorry about that._

Akaashi carefully ripped his gaze away from the duo and decided to focus his attention on Kunimi instead. “Right. So erm… I actually have a few questions I’d like to ask.” Kunimi nodded, encouraging him to continue. “It mostly concerns necromancy but also Nephilims as well as Oikawa and Iwaizumi’s… predicament…”

 

Matsukawa whistled appreciatively, “You’re going to keep us busy” while Makki made a ‘come at me bro’ motion with his hand.

 

“You’ve got the get go,” Kunimi said, smiling.

 

“Thank you,” Akaashi bowed slightly. He appreciated it, he really did, but he didn’t want to waste any more time beating around the bush. He was worried about Kenma—still unconscious as far as he knew. And god, he hoped Suga didn’t blow up their kitchen during an experiment _again._ And please, Oikawa and his familiar better be behaving in his absence. He had enough on his shoulders already.

 

“First off, is it possible for two tangible but not entirely human entities, say a shapeshifter and a forest nymph, to develop a relationship similar to the one linking a familiar and a witch? Like with a spell or something similar?”

 

Kunimi raised his eyebrows and gave a questioning look in his ghosts’ direction. “First time I’m ever hearing about something like that.”

 

“Same,” Makki agreed.

 

They all turned to look at Matsukawa who was humming to himself. “I think it is, well—kinda,” he finally said, “Although I doubt it would be a voluntary move seeing as one, the only way to make it possible would be with necromancy and neither nymphs nor shapeshifters can practice it safely. That’s what you thought, right?” he asked Akaashi, seriousness lacing his traits.

 

Akaashi raised a brow. So he _could_ get focused and professional. “Yeah, I wasn’t sure how, though. I’m not familiar with necromancy, and my divination power is pretty limited when I’m trying to learn about stuff I know nothing about.”

 

“It’s a very powerful spell,” Mattsun crossed his arms on his chest, “and two, “ he continued where he had let off, “it comes with a lot of side effects—for the ones being linked I mean. I’m talking about fainting, nose bleeds, basically a lot of unpleasant stuff that weakens both parties. That’s where it differs from the familiar spell. Basically, it puts a link between two individuals and it works against them.”

 

“And would it be possible for someone to put the spell from a distance? Like as a trap hidden inside another spell? ”

 

Things were starting to connect in Akaashi’s mind. Ushijima wasn’t twisted enough to think about something like that. Damn Tendou.

 

“Probably,” Mattsun nodded, “if the caster is powerful enough, I don’t see why not? It’s a nice spell to put up as a trap: it’s inconvenient and powerful--even if it doesn’t last long--and it’s just enough to hinder your opponent while you prepare your next move.”

 

At least the spell was going to subside by itself, there was always that to be happy about. 

 

“How long?” Akaashi inquired nonetheless. He tried to keep his voice even, but he himself could feel a bit of anxiousness lacing his words.

 

“Depends. Can be a few hours, can be a few days. It probably won’t last more than a week. And waiting is the only solution to raise this spell,” the ghost added at his intention, probably feeling his apprehension, “No countering spells or charms would ever be able to lift it. It needs time.”

 

Akaashi bit his lips. “Okay.”

 

He could feel a cold anger starting to rise from the pit of his stomach. He gritted his teeth. Tendou had foresaw that they were going to try and lift the all-seeing spell and had left a trap behind in hope to inflict further damage.

 

It wasn’t the fact that he saw right through them that bothered Akaashi the most though, it was the fact that the Nephilim had intentionally wanted to hurt someone—if it hadn’t been Kenma and Kuroo it would have been someone else—and that he probably did it behind Ushijima’s back in an attempt to intimidate them and that, Akaashi couldn’t forgive.

 

No one could hurt his friends and expect him not to go down with a fight.

 

“NEXT QUESTION!” Makki requested as soon as an uncomfortable silence began to install.

 

“Right.”

 

Akaashi exhaled slowly. He couldn’t do anything for Kenma other than keep watching them and Kuroo and making sure they were both going to be fine. For now.

 

He cleared his throat. Not everything looked grim: the ghosts really were living up to their reputation. They seemed to know about a lot of stuff. Being dead had its perks, apparently. Maybe he was actually going to have the answers he sought and in any case, he had nothing to lose, right?

 

He went on with his next question. “Have there ever been hybrid demons registered at the Exorcists’ Clave before?”

 

Kunimi raised a knowing brow and crossed his legs, “And by hybrid you mean someone like Iwaizumi, don’t you?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

Makki and Matsukawa sighed and exchanged long, meaningful stares before answering. “It’s not…it’s not as if it had never happened before,” Makki hesitantly began, “I mean witches screw up spells and summonings all the time and you often end up having demons that are a mix of faeries or minor spirits—and less often they can also be part-ghosts or part-familiars but…” Hanamaki voice’s faded and the ghost eyed his friend with a pleading expression on his face, silently requesting assistance.

 

“But?” Akaashi asked before he could stop himself. It hadn’t been his intention to push them, but despite his best efforts, he was starting to feel the apprehension creeping up under his skin.

 

“But,” Matsukawa sighed and scratched his head, “Believe it or not, the Clave has a lot of blind spots in its rules.”

 

Akaashi nodded affirmatively. “They sure do.”

 

“So that means that most of the time when unprecedented events rise up, they decide arbitrarily about the best course of action to take, and that can often leads to…questionable decisions to say the least. But most Exorcists are very careful people and they tend to choose what gives them both the safest option and the easiest one as well…”

 

“Which means…?”

 

“That those hybrid familiars get registered—that’s the way it looks like at least— but it’s what comes afterwards that is a little blurred. Simply put, we _don’t know_ _for sure what happens in these specific situations_ , nobody does. Exorcists are extremely secretive about these kinds of things and they have all the power necessary to conceal something this important. Plus, the Clave is surrounded by extremely sophisticated repelling spells and we rarely ever saw or heard about anything that has been going on inside of it.  ”

 

Akaashi kept silent, letting the new information sink in.

 

“If I were you,” Kunimi soflty suggested, “I’ll try to register him as soon as possible; if you want to stay on the Exorcists’ good side that is.”

 

The last part of his sentence was the key. The Exorcists good side.

 

Akaashi’s brain was working at a hundred miles per hour. What could work? What would be the safest option for Oikawa? Should they try and go against the Exorcists? Against Tendou?

 

What exactly was at stake here?

 

He hummed to himself, annoyed at his own incapacity to see clear.

 

“Tough decision,” Mattsun scrunched his noise as if he were the one taking it, “In both cases, it feels like a gamble. Sorry if we aren’t a lot of help, here.”

 

Akaashi waved his hand in a dismissive motion. “Don’t sweat it, I’ll think about something.”

 

_I have to._

 

“Oh!” Makki snapped his fingers, “Didn’t you have something to ask about Nephilims?”

 

“Yeah,” Akaashi answered, dark irises barely masking the storm brewing behind his eyes, “How do I get rid of one?”

 

He just had an idea.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oikawa had always knew Akaashi was powerful. Not only had he taught him a lot, the witch had this kinf of aura in permanence, a calm yet dangerous kind of aura that commanded respect. The rare times it managed to break through Akaashi’s usual composure, it could freeze the blood in the veins of even the most powerful demons.

He had always knew Akaashi was powerful, yet he had never been downright afraid of him.

Until now.

When the witch came back from Kunimi’s place with Bokuto perched on his shoulder; the demon oddly silent despite having just been re-summoned, his eyes were cold, his stance, a declaration of war in itself.  

Everybody froze when he entered the guest room where Kuroo and Kenma were resting, damp cloths on their forehead and spells covering their arms. Sugawara excitedly stood up, “Akaashi! You’re ba-“

The words died in their throat.

Iwaizumi stepped closer to Oikawa, something he’d only ever done facing an enemy before. Daichi visibly gulped and nervously glanced between Akaashi and Suga, feeling the tension twined in the air.

“I have a plan,” Akaashi said, breaking the awkward silence that had settled in the room. His voice remained even and somehow, that made the small sentence sound terrifying.

Bokuto shook his feathers.

Oikawa could feel cold sweat running down his back. The wait for Akaashi’s return had been nerve-wracking but he wasn’t sure if this was a lot better.

Just what kind of plan did he have in mind?

He didn’t ask --nobody did despite the question being on everyone’s lips-- and waited anxiously for the witch to go on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if i said i tried not to end this on a cliffhanger would you guys believe me? //sweats
> 
> As usual thank you for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> First chapter done! Let me know what you think and hopefully I'll be back soon with the rest!!  
> Also if you notice any mistakes please tell me! I'm still learning and I can use any help I can get!
> 
> Go scream in my ask box @kazayu.tumblr.com
> 
> (And i hope i didn't slaughter this amazing AU idea omg)


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